Volkswagen South Africa has finally spoken out on the global #Dieselgate saga that has plagued the group and seen share prices plummet in recent weeks. There have been many owners of Volkswagen diesel vehicles locally that have been stressing and applying pressure on VW SA to find out how the issue might affect us locally, and word has finally arrived as to how, or if, it does.
For those that don’t know, the Dieselgate saga surrounding Volkswagen involves the programming of vehicles equipped with the EA189 Euro 5 diesel engines, whereby they enter a ‘cheat mode’ during emissions testing that reduces emissions by up to 40 times in order to comply with emissions laws.
So, what are the implications locally?
Luckily for South African Volkswagen buyers, South Africa is still quite a way behind Europe and the USA in terms of emissions regulations. Unlike first world areas, who are currently having to adhere to Euro 5 and 6 emissions standards, South Africa only needs to legally comply with the EU2 compliance standard.
As such, the EA189 Euro 5 engines, even without the use of the ‘cheat mode’, are fully compliant with South African legislature, and no further action needs to be taken by Volkswagen South Africa. There will be no recalls, and furthermore, all vehicles equipped with the aforementioned engine are safe, roadworthy, and comply fully with all CO2 emission requirements.
Possibly for the first time in a long time, South Africa being behind the times comes as a relief to concerned VW owners.
