Italy's transport and
infrastructure ministry said Tuesday that it has launched an
inquiry after Volkswagen admitted rigging car emissions tests.
The ministry expressed "concern" and said it was seeking
answers both from the carmaker and from KBA,
Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt, the main testing facility for these cars.
The company has said that it was setting aside &euro6.5bn
to cover costs arising from the scandal. It added that 11
million vehicles worldwide were affected.
The boss of Volkswagen's US business, Michael Horn, has
admitted VW "totally screwed up" in using software to rig
emissions tests.
"For the good of our consumers and the environment, we need
to have the certainty that industry scrupulously respects the
limits on car emissions," European internal market spokesperson
Lucia Caudet told ANSA.
Caudet stressed that it was the responsibility of the
national authorities to oversee emission tests and make sure
limits are respected.
Volkswagen stressed on Tuesday that "new vehicles from the
Volkswagen Group with EU 6 diesel engines currently available in
the European Union comply with legal requirements and
environmental standards".
Environment Minister Gian Luca Galletti said that
Volkswagen should consider stopping sales in Italy of some of
its diesel cars, as it has in the United States, after it
emerged that the carmaker had rigged emissions tests.
"I learned about the result of the probes with concern,"
Galletti said after writing to Volkswagen Group Italia CEO
Massimo Nordio for clarification.
Volkswagen has been ordered to recall half a million
vehicles in the United States. Galletti said that in the letter
he had told VW to "assume similar initiatives to those taken on
the American market, if necessary, to protect the Italian
consumers who placed their trust in the Volkswagen brand".
Also on Tuesday, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) said it
does not use defective equipment and works closely with the US
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make sure its product
complies with emissions norms, Bloomberg News reported. FCA's
statement came in the wake of the Volkswagen emissions-fixing
scandal.
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