SK to ban sales of certain car models
SOUTH Korea is to ban sales of some cars made by Porsche, BMW and Nissan, and fine the companies over US$5 million as a probe into emissions documentation widens.
Seoul began investigating environmental certification on imported automobiles after Volkswagen last year admitted to installing emissions cheating software in some 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide.
The so-called defeat devices could detect when a vehicle was undergoing tests and lowered tailpipe fumes accordingly to make the cars seem less polluting than they were.
The South Korean government said on Tuesday it had found certification errors in 10 models sold across the country — two from Nissan, one BMW and seven Porsche — and would slap a combined 6.5 billion won (US$5.6 million) fine on the firms.
“We will allow Nissan and BMW to clarify their positions through a hearing and file a legal complaint if irregularities are confirmed,” said Hong Dong-Kon, an environment ministry official in charge of auto environmental standards.
Porsche already admitted its errors with the certification documents and has stopped selling four of the seven affected models, Hong said.
In August, the ministry banned the sale of 80 Volkswagen models and fined the company US$16 million for forged documentation on engine noise levels, fuel efficiency and emissions.
The scandal has taken its toll on the company’s reputation in the country, with its sales in South Korea plunging 33 percent in the first half of this year from a year earlier.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
- RSS
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证:沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证:31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证:0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证:沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证:沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.