Volkswagen Group is to recall another 460,000 European cars as a result of the ‘dieselgate’ emissions figures scandal.
The cars, of which 18,018 were registered in the UK, are all fitted with the EA189 1.2-litre TDI diesel engine, and include the VW Polo and its supermini sisters from SEAT and Skoda, the Ibiza and Fabia.
The recall follows the dieselgate furore which erupted in September 2015 after Volkswagen was found to be using a ‘defeat device’ to manipulate emissions figures in official tests.
Affected cars will require a software update, which takes around 30 to 60 minutes. The corrective work was approved by German motoring agency the KBA. It does not affect fuel consumption levels, performance or noise, and Volkswagen adds that cars are safe to drive before the work is carried out.
The KBA has already approved fixes on 2.0-litre versions of the EA189 TDI engine, and is now working with Volkswagen to approve corrective work on 1.6-litre engines. This is likely to involve physical work in the form of a mesh alongside the software update, and will result in another recall in due course.
So far corrections have been approved on more than five million of the 8.5 million VW Group vehicles said to be affected in Europe. Globally the figure is around 11 million.
In America Volkswagen is still trying to produce a solution acceptable to authorities. Reports suggest that if no fix is found the brand could be forced to buy back the 475,000 vehicles affected.
Volkswagen UK will contact owners of affected 1.2-litre vehicles by letter and the work will be carried out free of charge.
