Volkswagen to deposit penalty, but says its cars are emission compliant in India
17 Jan 2019
German carmaker Volkswagen AG on Thursday said its cars are compliant with India’s emission norms, but will still deposit a penalty of Rs100 crore ($14.08 million) penalty as directed by the National Green Tribunal.
Volkswagen’s statement follows an NGT order directing the car maker to deposit Rs100 crore by Friday and warning it of punitive actions, including the arrest of its country head and the seizure of its properties, for failure to comply.
Volkswagen in its statement said it will challenge the NGT order to pay the penalty in the Supreme Court, but will still deposit the money.
“The Volkswagen Group India will comply with the order of NGT and deposit the money, as directed,” Volkswagen Group India spokesman said.
Volkswagen AG in India provides information in accordance with a 1999 directive regarding fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, as per its web site.
According to the company, the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of a vehicle do not just depend on the efficient utilisation of the fuel by the vehicle, but are also influenced by driving style and other non-technical factors.
“CO2 is the greenhouse gas primarily responsible for global warming. The values stated were calculated according to the measuring methods specified in the currently applicable version of Directive 80/1268/EEC. The data do not relate to a specific vehicle and are not part of the specification, but are merely for the purpose of comparing different vehicle types.”