VW Korea not to take legal action against sales ban

[THE INVESTOR] Audi Volkswagen Korea has decided not to take legal action against the government’s latest sales ban and decertification decision that affected its 80 models, local news reported on Aug. 29.

“We decided that we need to resolve the current situation and continue with the recertification progress to resume business,” an official from the Korean unit said.

Earlier, the automaker said it was considering legal action after the Environment Ministry on Aug. 2 revoked the certification of 80 models of Audi, Volkswagen and Bentley vehicles for cheating on emission and noise level tests.

But according to industry insiders, the Korean unit shifted its stance as it needs to get the affected cars recertified from the same ministry to continue business in South Korea.

The latest sales ban practically halted VW’s operation here. A total of 83,000 units are subject to the ministry’s latest punitive measure, in addition to the 126,000 cars that had already been decertified last November for installing cheating software.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)