Italy opens probe into VW scandal

(ANSA) - Rome, September 22 - 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.