The Ministry of Sustainable Development and Infrastructure has announced that in light of the recent Volkswagen scandal, nearly 56,000 vehicles registered in Luxembourg are concerned, with more potentially compromised pending the final conclusions of the official investigation.

As a result, the Ministry has published the answers to certain questions for any vehicle owners concerned with the Volkswagen case, as it was recently revealed that the car manufacturer had installed software which allowed its vehicles to cheat on emissions tests whilst emitting up to forty times more pollution than is legally permitted by US environmental standards.

  •  A circulation ban for affected cars will not be appropriate as the vehicles concerned pose no security risk
  • A ban on the sale of new cars concerned in Luxembourg is not necessary because following the indication of the VW Group, the current production includes Euro 6 engines that are not equipped with the disputed software
  • Outstanding sales of cars concerned will require the corrective action from the producer, with no cost to the car owner.
  • There is no tax impact on motor vehicles and acquired grants (Prime CAR-e) for cars on the road. According to the information available, the elcetronic engine management hardware used is to falsify the nitrogen oxide emissions and not emissions of carbon dioxide. However, as the tax and subsidies are calculated based on the CO2 values, there is no impact on the tax and premiums. Therefore, no refund requests will be applied by the state.

Overall, the EU registration system of certification by type should be strengthened by including specific demands on the software used. Through the new framework directive, the mechanisms of control and assurance of impartiality should be reinforced.

Once the vehicles are on the market, controls will need to be strengthened to ensure that actual emissions from cars correspond to what manufacturers have indicated when the first prototype was submitted for approbal. Discussions are currently in progress amongst a working group of the European Commission, which need to be hastened and closed as soon as possible.

The Ministry concluded that the automotive industry is facing a major credibility problem in the face of this scandal, indicating that efforts should be undertaken to make substantial progress in reducing emissions and pollutants. 'Zero emission' cars were cited as a primary objective.

 

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