Audi Volkswagen Korea Ltd. said Monday it has entered the second round of a recall of its vehicles affected by the diesel emissions scandal, a move designed to regain consumer confidence.

In an extended recall that began Monday, the South Korean unit of Volkswagen Group will carry out a software update on a total of 82,291 units of its Volkswagen and Audi models equipped with the emissions-cheating 2.0-liter EA189 diesel engine, Audi Volkswagen Korea said in a statement.

"The software update for the affected vehicles can be completed within 30 minutes. No costs will be incurred for the recall," the statement said. 


Three Audi and six Volkswagen models are subject to the second recall plan. The first started in January, targeting the Tiguan SUV equipped with the same 2.0-liter EA189 diesel engine, it said.

The cars subject to recall now are Audi's A4, A5 and A6, as well as Volkswagen's Golf, Jetta, Passat, Beetle, CC and Scirocco models, the company said. 

"A total of 27,010 Tiguan SUVs were subject to the recall, and half of the affected cars have been checked and fixed," a Seoul-based company spokeswoman said by phone.

There still remain Audi and Volkswagen models equipped with the 2.0-liter diesel engine or the 1.6-liter diesel engine that need to be recalled, she added.

In August, Audi Volkswagen obtained certification from the environment ministry for the resumption of sales of its models in Korea.

To fully resume sales here, it has to receive certification from the transport and commerce ministries as well. The German automaker is widely expected to reintroduce its vehicles in the Korean market as early as late this year.

In July last year, Volkswagen voluntarily stopped selling its vehicles in Asia's fourth largest economy as the Seoul government announced it would ban the sale of all Audi and Volkswagen cars and impose heavy fines on the German carmaker after it admitted to having falsified US emissions tests in some of its diesel-powered cars. (Yonhap)