India's environmental watchdog, the National Green Tribunal (NGT), has slapped Rs 500 crore fine on German automotive company Volkswagen for damaging environment by using cheat devices in diesel cars in India.

The case relates to health damage caused by excess emissions of pollutants and emissions violations.

A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel directed the carmaker to deposit the amount within two months.

The tribunal enhanced the compensation amount of Rs 171.34 crore, which was recommended by a NGT-appointed committee, as a means of "creating deterrence".

The automaker, however, said that it did not violate the BS-IV norms and that the test results were based on "road testings" for which there were no prescribed standards.

The bench said, "Sustainable development is the main guiding factor... We are unable to accept the manufacturer's objections to the report."

It said that the apex pollution monitoring body may consider utilising the money towards improving air quality in the National Capital Region and other highly polluted areas.

The green panel had on November 16, last year said that use of 'cheat device' by Volkswagen in <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/ngt-panel-orders-volkswagen-to-pay-rs-100-crore-fine-in-emissions-case-190884">diesel cars in India</a> leads to environmental damage and had directed it to deposit an interim amount of Rs 100 crore with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

It had also constituted a joint team of representatives of the CPCB, Ministry of Heavy Industries, Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, which had recommended Rs 171.34-crore fine on Volkswagen as "health damages" for causing air pollution in Delhi due to excess nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.

The expert committee in its report has estimated that Volkswagen cars released approximately 48.678 tonnes of NOx in 2016 in the national capital.

"Estimated cost of heath damage due to additional NOx emissions from the Volkswagen group vehicles is approximately Rs 171.34 crore using a metro city i.E Delhi as base. The value may be considered conservative due to lack of methodologies for calculating the overall impact of nitrogen oxide on the environment in India and hence only health damages are valued.

"Further, the valuation is for Delhi considering that the value of NOx is 435 tonnes released in the city. This is assumed because lack of data on the geographical locations and plying regions of Volkswagen vehicles which have caused the damage and for all the years which have been considered for damage," the committee has said in its report.

The panel was formed by the NGT on November 16 last year to give its opinion whether the manufacturer has exceeded the prescribed environmental norms and fair estimate of the damage caused to the environment.

The committee has told the NGT that automobiles are a major source of nitrogen oxide. The green panel had said the use of 'cheat device' by Volkswagen in diesel cars in India leads to inference of environmental damage and asked the German carmaker to deposit an interim amount of Rs 100 crore with the Central Pollution Control Board.

The tribunal was hearing pleas filed by Ailawadi, a school teacher, and a few others seeking ban on the sale of Volkswagen vehicles for alleged violation of emission norms.

A 'cheat' or 'defeat device' is a software in diesel engines to manipulate emission tests by changing the performance of the cars globally.

Volkswagen India had in December 2015 announced the recall of 3,23,700 lakh vehicles in India to fix the emission software after ARAI conducted tests on some models and found that their on-road emissions were 1.1 times to 2.6 times higher than the applicable BS-IV norms.

The automobile giant had admitted to the use of 'defeat device' in 11 million diesel engine cars sold in the US, Europe and other global markets to manipulate emission test results.

After the tests by ARAI, Volkswagen India had undertaken to rejig the software by recalling around 3.23 lakh vehicles fitted with EA 189 diesel engines which were in alleged violation of emission norms.

The company, however, had said that the recall in India was purely voluntary in nature as it did not face any charges regarding violating emission norms in India, unlike in the US.

India's environmental watchdog, the National Green Tribunal (NGT), has slapped Rs 500 crore fine on German automotive company Volkswagen for damaging environment by using cheat devices in diesel cars in India.

India's environmental watchdog, the National Green Tribunal (NGT), has slapped Rs 500 crore fine on German automotive company Volkswagen for damaging environment by using cheat devices in diesel cars in India. The case relates to health damage caused by excess emissions of pollutants and emissions violations. A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel directed the carmaker to deposit the amount within two months. The tribunal enhanced the compensation amount of Rs 171.34 crore, which was recommended by a NGT-appointed committee, as a means of "creating deterrence". The automaker, however, said that it did not violate the BS-IV norms and that the test results were based on "road testings" for which there were no prescribed standards. The bench said, "Sustainable development is the main guiding factor... We are unable to accept the manufacturer's objections to the report." It said that the apex pollution monitoring body may consider utilising the money towards improving air quality in the National Capital Region and other highly polluted areas. The green panel had on November 16, last year said that use of 'cheat device' by Volkswagen in diesel cars in India leads to environmental damage and had directed it to deposit an interim amount of Rs 100 crore with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). It had also constituted a joint team of representatives of the CPCB, Ministry of Heavy Industries, Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, which had recommended Rs 171.34-crore fine on Volkswagen as "health damages" for causing air pollution in Delhi due to excess nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. The expert committee in its report has estimated that Volkswagen cars released approximately 48.678 tonnes of NOx in 2016 in the national capital. "Estimated cost of heath damage due to additional NOx emissions from the Volkswagen group vehicles is approximately Rs 171.34 crore using a metro city i.E Delhi as base. The value may be considered conservative due to lack of methodologies for calculating the overall impact of nitrogen oxide on the environment in India and hence only health damages are valued. "Further, the valuation is for Delhi considering that the value of NOx is 435 tonnes released in the city. This is assumed because lack of data on the geographical locations and plying regions of Volkswagen vehicles which have caused the damage and for all the years which have been considered for damage," the committee has said in its report. The panel was formed by the NGT on November 16 last year to give its opinion whether the manufacturer has exceeded the prescribed environmental norms and fair estimate of the damage caused to the environment. The committee has told the NGT that automobiles are a major source of nitrogen oxide. The green panel had said the use of 'cheat device' by Volkswagen in diesel cars in India leads to inference of environmental damage and asked the German carmaker to deposit an interim amount of Rs 100 crore with the Central Pollution Control Board. The tribunal was hearing pleas filed by Ailawadi, a school teacher, and a few others seeking ban on the sale of Volkswagen vehicles for alleged violation of emission norms. A 'cheat' or 'defeat device' is a software in diesel engines to manipulate emission tests by changing the performance of the cars globally. Volkswagen India had in December 2015 announced the recall of 3,23,700 lakh vehicles in India to fix the emission software after ARAI conducted tests on some models and found that their on-road emissions were 1.1 times to 2.6 times higher than the applicable BS-IV norms. The automobile giant had admitted to the use of 'defeat device' in 11 million diesel engine cars sold in the US, Europe and other global markets to manipulate emission test results. After the tests by ARAI, Volkswagen India had undertaken to rejig the software by recalling around 3.23 lakh vehicles fitted with EA 189 diesel engines which were in alleged violation of emission norms. The company, however, had said that the recall in India was purely voluntary in nature as it did not face any charges regarding violating emission norms in India, unlike in the US.

Emission fiasco: NGT slaps Rs 500 crore fine on Volkswagen

Federal investigators probing Volkswagen&#39;s diesel emissions cheating scandal have uncovered evidence of criminal wrongdoing, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing sources familiar with the matter. 
 
The justice department is now negotiating a settlement which may involve significant financial penalties for the company, the newspaper said. 
 
The German automaker has worked swiftly to put the emissions scandal behind it, reaching multi-billion-dollar civil settlements with most US states and offering to compensate owners and fix deficient automobiles. 
 
But, with the possibility of criminal sanctions, Monday&#39;s news added a grave new dimension to the company&#39;s travails. 
 
Prosecutors had yet to decide on specific charges, according to the Journal. 
 
It said the department is weighing the alternatives of requiring a guilty plea from the company, or offering it a deferred prosecution agreement, which would require certain corrective behaviour by the company over time after which charges would be dropped. 
 
A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment on the report. 
 
In a statement, Volkswagen said talks were continuing with federal and state authorities, including the Justice Department. 
 
&quot;Volkswagen is committed to earning back the trust of our customers, dealers, regulators and the American public.&quot; 
 
The company admitted last year to installing cheating devices on nearly 600,000 diesel-powered vehicles in the US and as many as 11 million worldwide. 
 
Cars were configured to reduce harmful nitrogen oxide emissions during official pollution tests, while allowing emissions of up to 40 times the legal limit during actual driving. 
 
The company, which also markets Audi and Porsche vehicles, settled civil cases in June over cheat devices on 2.0 liter cars in an agreement valued at $14.7 billion. 
 
It still needs to settle complaints about its 3.0 liter diesel cars. 
 
Lawsuits filed last month by the attorneys general of New York and Massachusetts implicated senior company executives in the emissions cheating, suggesting a current and former CEO may have been aware of it. 
 
Both men, current CEO Matthias Mueller and his predecessor Martin Winterkorn, have denied personal responsibility for wrongdoing. 
 
(AFP)&nbsp; 
 
&nbsp;

The justice department is now negotiating a settlement which may involve significant financial penalties for the company, WSJ said?

Federal investigators probing Volkswagen's diesel emissions cheating scandal have uncovered evidence of criminal wrongdoing, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The justice department is now negotiating a settlement which may involve significant financial penalties for the company, the newspaper said. The German automaker has worked swiftly to put the emissions scandal behind it, reaching multi-billion-dollar civil settlements with most US states and offering to compensate owners and fix deficient automobiles. But, with the possibility of criminal sanctions, Monday's news added a grave new dimension to the company's travails. Prosecutors had yet to decide on specific charges, according to the Journal. It said the department is weighing the alternatives of requiring a guilty plea from the company, or offering it a deferred prosecution agreement, which would require certain corrective behaviour by the company over time after which charges would be dropped. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment on the report. In a statement, Volkswagen said talks were continuing with federal and state authorities, including the Justice Department. "Volkswagen is committed to earning back the trust of our customers, dealers, regulators and the American public." The company admitted last year to installing cheating devices on nearly 600,000 diesel-powered vehicles in the US and as many as 11 million worldwide. Cars were configured to reduce harmful nitrogen oxide emissions during official pollution tests, while allowing emissions of up to 40 times the legal limit during actual driving. The company, which also markets Audi and Porsche vehicles, settled civil cases in June over cheat devices on 2.0 liter cars in an agreement valued at $14.7 billion. It still needs to settle complaints about its 3.0 liter diesel cars. Lawsuits filed last month by the attorneys general of New York and Massachusetts implicated senior company executives in the emissions cheating, suggesting a current and former CEO may have been aware of it. Both men, current CEO Matthias Mueller and his predecessor Martin Winterkorn, have denied personal responsibility for wrongdoing. (AFP)

US uncovers evidence of criminality in Volkswagen's emissions probe: Report?

Volkswagen has received regulatory approval for technical fixes on an additional 460,000 diesel cars, the German carmaker said today. 
 
Approval granted by Germany&#39;s motor vehicle authority KBA affects models with smaller 1.2-litre diesel engines such as Volkswagen&#39;s Polo subcompact and Spanish division Seat&#39;s Ibiza model, VW said. 
 
Chief executive Matthias Mueller said at the company&#39;s June 22 annual shareholder meeting that technical solutions on more than 3.7 million cars had been cleared by the KBA. 
 
An emissions scandal affects 11 million VW vehicles globally including about 8.5 million VW group cars in Europe. 
 
(Reuters)

Approval granted by Germany's motor vehicle authority affects models with smaller 1.2-litre diesel engines like Volkswagen's Polo subcompact

Volkswagen has received regulatory approval for technical fixes on an additional 460,000 diesel cars, the German carmaker said today. Approval granted by Germany's motor vehicle authority KBA affects models with smaller 1.2-litre diesel engines such as Volkswagen's Polo subcompact and Spanish division Seat's Ibiza model, VW said. Chief executive Matthias Mueller said at the company's June 22 annual shareholder meeting that technical solutions on more than 3.7 million cars had been cleared by the KBA. An emissions scandal affects 11 million VW vehicles globally including about 8.5 million VW group cars in Europe. (Reuters)

VW emission scandal: German carmaker gets approval for fixes on another 460,000 diesel cars

Embattled German auto giant Volkswagen will face the wrath of its shareholders at its annual meeting on Wednesday as it struggles to steer itself out of an unprecedented engine-rigging scandal. 
 
Nine months after the &quot;Dieselgate&quot; affair, when it emerged VW had installed emissions-cheating software into 11 million diesel engines worldwide, the former paragon of German industry is still nowhere near drawing a line under its deepest ever crisis. 
 
The costs of the affair are still incalculable, and it is not yet known whether VW&#39;s own internal investigation will pinpoint the major culprits behind the scam. 
 
But small shareholders are likely to use the upcoming AGM in the northern city of Hanover to let off steam at the way management has handled the affair, even if the power those shareholders wield remains limited. 
 
They hold just 11 per cent of the voting rights in VW, while the founding families Porsche and Piech hold 52 per cent, the regional state of Lower Saxony 20 per cent and the Emirate of Qatar 17 per cent. 
 
Ulrich Hocker, head of the DSW association of small shareholders, told AFP he has been attending the company&#39;s AGMs for the past 20 years and he expects this one to be &quot;very different, very contentious&quot;. 
 
&quot;There will be very little discussion about the group&#39;s operating performance. It will focus almost solely on the diesel engine scandal and claims for compensation,&quot; he predicted. 
 
VW, which owns 12 brands ranging from Volkswagen and Porsche to Audi and SEAT, is facing regulatory fines, as well as a myriad of lawsuits from shareholders and car owners. 
 
Shareholders accuse management in particular of dragging their feet in informing them about the scam, which led to a reeling 40-per cent drop in the company&#39;s share price last autumn. 
 
The stock has since recovered somewhat, but is still 26 per cent below the levels before the scandal broke last September. 
 
List of grievances&nbsp; 
 
Shareholder meetings in Germany tend to be long and drawn out as mom-and-pop investors stand up to have their say, but this one could stretch late into the evening. 
 
A number of shareholder lobby groups, such as DSW and SdK, are demanding special enquiries into who should be held responsible for the affair, arguing that an investigation being carried out by US consultants Jones Day is not sufficiently independent. 
 
Shareholders can also voice their discontent by withholding their formal &quot;approval&quot; of management actions over the course of the past year, normally only a formality at German AGMs. 
 
But any such vote in the case will remain symbolic as VW&#39;s biggest shareholders are likely to give their support to the management. 
 
The issue of the management board&#39;s pay is also likely to rile many, since the shareholders are seeing their annual dividend slashed to just 0.17 euro per share from 4.86 euros a year earlier, while board members are likely to still pocket generous bonuses. 
 
The dividend proposal &quot;will come under heavy fire,&quot; said Metzler bank analyst Juergen Pieper, while DSW&#39;s Ulrich Hocker slammed it as &quot;ridiculous&quot;. 
 
VW was compelled to set aside 16 billion euros in provisions to cover the costs of the affair so far, pushing it into a net loss of 1.6 billion euros, the carmaker&#39;s first loss in 20 years. 
(AFP) 
 
&nbsp;

In what is known as the 'Dieselgate' affair, VW had installed emissions-cheating software into 11 million diesel engines worldwide

Embattled German auto giant Volkswagen will face the wrath of its shareholders at its annual meeting on Wednesday as it struggles to steer itself out of an unprecedented engine-rigging scandal. Nine months after the "Dieselgate" affair, when it emerged VW had installed emissions-cheating software into 11 million diesel engines worldwide, the former paragon of German industry is still nowhere near drawing a line under its deepest ever crisis. The costs of the affair are still incalculable, and it is not yet known whether VW's own internal investigation will pinpoint the major culprits behind the scam. But small shareholders are likely to use the upcoming AGM in the northern city of Hanover to let off steam at the way management has handled the affair, even if the power those shareholders wield remains limited. They hold just 11 per cent of the voting rights in VW, while the founding families Porsche and Piech hold 52 per cent, the regional state of Lower Saxony 20 per cent and the Emirate of Qatar 17 per cent. Ulrich Hocker, head of the DSW association of small shareholders, told AFP he has been attending the company's AGMs for the past 20 years and he expects this one to be "very different, very contentious". "There will be very little discussion about the group's operating performance. It will focus almost solely on the diesel engine scandal and claims for compensation," he predicted. VW, which owns 12 brands ranging from Volkswagen and Porsche to Audi and SEAT, is facing regulatory fines, as well as a myriad of lawsuits from shareholders and car owners. Shareholders accuse management in particular of dragging their feet in informing them about the scam, which led to a reeling 40-per cent drop in the company's share price last autumn. The stock has since recovered somewhat, but is still 26 per cent below the levels before the scandal broke last September. List of grievances Shareholder meetings in Germany tend to be long and drawn out as mom-and-pop investors stand up to have their say, but this one could stretch late into the evening. A number of shareholder lobby groups, such as DSW and SdK, are demanding special enquiries into who should be held responsible for the affair, arguing that an investigation being carried out by US consultants Jones Day is not sufficiently independent. Shareholders can also voice their discontent by withholding their formal "approval" of management actions over the course of the past year, normally only a formality at German AGMs. But any such vote in the case will remain symbolic as VW's biggest shareholders are likely to give their support to the management. The issue of the management board's pay is also likely to rile many, since the shareholders are seeing their annual dividend slashed to just 0.17 euro per share from 4.86 euros a year earlier, while board members are likely to still pocket generous bonuses. The dividend proposal "will come under heavy fire," said Metzler bank analyst Juergen Pieper, while DSW's Ulrich Hocker slammed it as "ridiculous". VW was compelled to set aside 16 billion euros in provisions to cover the costs of the affair so far, pushing it into a net loss of 1.6 billion euros, the carmaker's first loss in 20 years. (AFP)

Volkswagen to face shareholder wrath in engine-rigging scandal