Volkswagen and Audi were recently caught by authorities for using the so-called ‘defeat-device’ in their diesel cars to manipulate emission test results. Now India’s ARAI wants to tests cars on the road.
Brand image is something that is considered by a lot by buyers these days. People suggest others to buy a car from a particular company because of various reasons like market reputation, good quality, pricing and features which is absolutely alright. Problems start when that reputed company is caught while practicing unethical means either in their functionality or their products that are offered for sale in the market. This kind of scenario is not only difficult for the company but also for their existing customers.
Recently Volkswagen and its subsidiary Audi were caught by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the U.S.A. for using devices in their diesel cars that could detect when they were being tested and hence changed the performance accordingly to meet emission standards, thereby improving the results which otherwise emit 40 percent more pollutants in reality. EPA found more than 4,80,000 cars to be fitted with this so-called, ‘defeat-device’ in the U.S.A. itself.
However Volkswagen and Audi admitted that about 11 million cars and 2.1 million cars worldwide are fitted with such a device respectively. This has not only raised a lot of questions about the company, it also forced the CEO of Volkswagen to step down from his position. The fine amount is said to run up to $11 billion (Rs. 71,000 crores) which means that Volkswagen is going to have some tough time in the coming months or probably years. The existing customers will also face troubles related to fines and humiliation.
This event has made the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) to take a decision and start picking samples from vehicles already on the roads and not from the manufacturers directly which would include new as well as old cars of Volkswagen. This is the first time that such an exercise is being carried out by ARAI in order to do a ‘reality check’ and get the actual figures as far as emissions is considered. The procedure will take around 3 to 4 weeks in order to carry out such a vast exercise and assure whether the cars manipulate emission norms or not.
