Volkswagen postpones recall of around 150,00 rigged Passat sedans

Volkswagen has postponed a recall of about 150,000 rigged Passat sedans because it couldn’t get German regulators to sign off on the fix, another blot on the carmaker’s effort to recover from the seven-month-old diesel scandal.

The German carmaker is working to gain regulatory approval for repairs that ensure the vehicles don’t become noisier and have worse fuel economy after disabling emissions-cheating software, according to Juergen Stackmann, the VW brand’s sales chief.

Volkswagen, which had planned to start recalling 2.0-litre diesel-powered Passats in March, is now switching gears and seeking approval for repairs to the higher-volume Golf hatchback instead.