European fixes set to begin

First-stage fixes for 8.5 million Volkswagen vehicles affected by the emissions-cheating scandal in Europe have been approved. Germany’s Federal Transport Authority, the KBA, has given its final approval for the proposed fixes for the 5.2 million Amarok pick-ups with two-litre engines with the remedy valid in all member states of the European Union (EU). Volkswagen says the fix will not reduce engine output or fuel efficiency, adding that repair shops already have the software update ready to carry out the remedy. Affected customers will also receive free transport to and from repair shops in lieu of financial compensation. The recalls for affected Amaroks have been estimated to take about a year with call backs for other affected models continuing throughout 2016. Passats with two-litre engines are expected to be recalled for fixes in late February or early March, followed by 1.2-litre Amaroks in the second quarter of the year and 1.6-litre engines in the third quarter. While repairs for two-litre and 1.2-litre engines will take about 30 minutes to complete, and affected 1.6-litre engines could take as much as an hour as they require a new part along with the software update. However, Volkswagen has maintained that recalls in Europe are not an “admission of wrongdoing” as the marque has chosen to accept the recall. A spokesman says: “The notice was sent to us, we did not file an appeal, and as a result the notice from the KBA became binding and therefore valid for all of Europe. That does not mean we arrived at the same legal interpretation”. He adds that the marque believes “EU law is ambiguous”, and disputes that the recall means affected models have “defeat devices as defined by EU law”.