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The Consumer Protection Council gives Volkswagen seven-day ultimatum to provide information on the status of its vehicles in Nigeria regarding emissions cheating device
| By Anayo Ezugwu | Nov 16, 2015 @ 01:00 GMT |
MORE than one month after Volkswagen announced that it would recall about 11 million cars, worldwide over emissions cheating software, the Consumer Protection Council, CPC, has issued a seven-day ultimatum to Volkswagen Nigeria to provide information on the status of its vehicles.
The council, in a letter to the automaker dated October 26, 2015, signed by Dupe Atoki, its director general, and obtained by Premium Times, said: “The attention of the council has been drawn to some publications wherein Volkswagen has admitted the allegation that certain illegal “defeat device” software was installed in Volkswagen vehicles to cheat emission test. The resultant effect of this on the environment and quality of these cars is of great importance to the CPC. The publications also indicated that Volkswagen had admitted that vehicles with 1.2, 1.6, and 2.0 litre EA 189 engines are all affected, (i.e. Golf, Beatle, Jetta and Passat models),” it said.
CPC noted that Volkswagen has a huge market in Nigeria, with many customers who may currently be in possession of the affected models. It requested Volkswagen Nigeria to within seven days of the receipt of its letter make available to it the number of affected vehicles in Nigeria (if any), steps taken to inform and sensitise consumers and efforts being made to facilitate quick recall of such vehicles in the country.
CPC said its directive was pursuant to the powers of the council to compel manufacturers to give public notice of any hazard inherent in their products. The council’s action came more than a month after Volkswagen admitted to US authorities that millions of its brands contained software that could cheat pollution tests, making them seem cleaner than they actually were.
Around 11 million vehicles worldwide manufactured between 2009 and 2015, including 5 million VW cars, 2.1 million Audi, 1.2 million Skoda, 700,000 Seat and 1.8 million vans, are confirmed to have been built with these so-called “defeat devices.”
The vehicles all contain a device programmed to detect when they are undergoing official emissions testing. The cars only turn on full emissions control systems during that testing. The controls are turned off during normal driving, allowing the cars to emit more than the legal limit of pollutants. The Beetle is among the models affected. It reported that Volkswagen had tendered a video apology at the peak of the company life threatening scandal, which has claimed the job of its managing director, with the auto maker hiring same law firm that the BP engaged during its oil spillage case.
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