Now, VW to recall 224 Bentley Flying Spurs in China over defective sunroofs

German carmaker Volkswagen (VW) will recall 224 vehicles in China over defective sunroofs, the country's top quality watchdog yesterday said in a statement posted on its website.

The recall affects 224 Bentley Flying Spur vehicles manufactured between 27 April 2007 and 29 October 2008, according to General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ).

GAQSIQ said that the sunroofs of the affected vehicles might separate from car frames when driving, posing safety risks.

VW plans to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge.

The recall comes a few days after South Korea suspended sales of most VW models (See: S Korea suspends sales of most Volkswagen models), dealing a fresh blow to the German automaker as it looks to contain the global fallout of its emissions-test cheating scandal and rebuild its tattered image.

The move could push back sales for Europe's biggest automaker in the Asian market, where its local unit had more than trebled revenue to 2.82 trillion won in the past five years before before the emissions scandal hit the German auto giant.

In June, VW's Indian arm recalled 1.90 lakh cars sold in India over the global diesel emissions scandal that has forced the German car maker to set aside $18.32 billion to fund the recall of millions of cars worldwide.

In September 2015, VW admitted that it had manipulated the engine results by using a software in around 11 million diesel cars, including its VW, Audi, Porsche, Skoda and Seat brands, to .

The emission scandal first broke out in the US, and soon spread to the UK, Italy, France, South Korea, Canada, India and Germany.

The affected VW diesel vehicles were sold with so-called ''defeat-device'' software designed to fool motor vehicle emissions tests into calibrating approved levels of greenhouse gas exhaust while the cars were operating.

Last month, VW agreed to spend up to $15.3 billion to settle US consumer and government claims over the emission scandal (Emissions scam: VW to pay up to $14.7 m to settle claims).

VW also faces as well as parallel suits in the US by state governments (3 US states to sue VW despite $15.3 bn settlement offer),  as well as parallel suits, including consumer complaints, in Germany.

Future expenses will include perhaps hundreds of millions of dollars in fees for the lawyers who secured the deal for car owners. More penalties, along with further damage to VW's reputation, may yet spring from criminal probes in the US, Germany and South Korea.