Volkswagen Ireland managing director to appear at Oireachtas transport committee
Fianna Fáil spokesman on transport Timmy Dooley said VW has some serious questions to answer on behalf of its customers.
“Lars Himmer, the managing director of Volkswagen Ireland, is to appear at the transport committee to explain where Irish customers stand in relation to the emissions scandal that his hit the company. Almost 80,000 cars face the prospect of having their engines refitted with new software.
“The emissions scandal at VW has really shone a spotlight on Europe’s testing regime as well as the management structure and decisions at the company. It will be important to get the perspective of Mr Himmer when he appears at the committee next week. There will be an opportunity for him to deal directly with the issues facing Irish drivers whose vehicles are affected.
“The fact that the company was caught cheating emissions tests is extremely serious. Consumers are rightly annoyed about it and Volkswagen has a lot to do to win back public confidence. I look forward to questioning the managing director of the Ireland Group and getting answers for affected consumers.”
Almost 80,000 Volkswagen cars here have been fitted with the emissions-cheating software.
The specific numbers of vehicles in Ireland affected per brand are: Volkswagen passenger cars (34,387), Audi (16,485), Seat (4,365), Skoda (16,004) and Volkswagen commercial vehicles (8,107).
These are vehicles sold through the Volkswagen authorised dealer network in Ireland.
However, the company said the number of affected used vehicles which have been imported “is still under clarification”.
This number could be up to an additional 30,000 cars, the company said.
