South Korea's state prosecutor's office said Sunday that it has launched a probe to determine if German carmaker Volkswagen AG (VW) cheated on its emissions tests for its latest engine model.

The local government has not been able to reach a conclusion on the matter as the "diesel gate" scandal has rocked the international automotive industry and South Korea's domestic car market. Volkswagen, with its lineup of diesel engines, has carved out a large chunk of South Korea's import car segment.

"The probe will be conducted on the Audi A1 and A3 models, as well as on the best-selling Golf vehicles made by VW," a source said. Audi is part of the German automotive conglomerate, and uses the same engines and other key components as VW.

The tests will be carried out by the National Institute of Environmental Research under the environment ministry.

All three cars use the 1.6-liter EA 288 diesel mill that is supposed to meet the latest Euro 6 emissions standards.

There have been allegations that these cars did not actually meet the tougher requirements, although the German carmaker denied such claims and insisted that the new engine fully complies with emissions standards.

The three cars are currently on sale in the country, although none have been fully tested to make certain they meet local emissions standards. The environment ministry already said that under certain driving conditions the 2.0-liter EA 288 engine used in the Golf exceeded emissions requirements.

Seoul has already ordered the recalls of cars like the Tiguan crossover and other Volkswagen models that used the older EA 189 engines that have been found to have cheated on emissions tests by using a so-called defeat device software.

Prosecutors said that each of the three vehicles will be driven 3,000 kilometers and be tested to see if they meet the rigorous requirements.

It said the results of the test will be released in late April.

Local car industry insiders said that if Volkswagen fails to pass the test, it could be a serious blow to its market presence.

"Everyone is paying close attention to the results," a source said because it can have far-reaching consequences for the country's diesel car market that has grown rapidly in recent years thanks to better fuel economy of diesel engines vis-a-vis gasoline ones. (Yonhap)