South Korea’s decision to ban sales of 80 model variants made by Volkswagen, Audi and Bentley locally has been described as “most severe” by the automaker that initially considered suing the Asian country.
However, almost a month into the sales ban, the German automotive giant has decided not to take South Korea to court, in a lengthy and costly process, according to Reuters, as officials will focus instead on trying to achieve certification for the affected vehicles and resume sales in no time.
Aside from denying the Volkswagen Group and its subsidiaries from selling cars in Korea, the local environment ministry has also fined the automaker with 17.8 billion won ($15.98 million) and raided the company’s offices in Seoul, at the beginning of summer, to arrest an executive.
In the wake of the cheating emissions scandal, which gained global proportions after it was uncovered last fall, Volkswagen’s sales plunged by 40 percent in South Korea, from January to July, with 12,888 vehicles delivered, and comes after deliveries dropped another 17 percent last year.
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