Volkswagen US Undergoes FTC Probe Over emission scandal

MANILA: The US Federal Trade Commission stated on Wednesday that it has initiated probe against the Volkswagen emissions-cheating scandal along with other government agencies. In an email to AFP, an FTC spokesperson said, “I can confirm that the FTC is coordinating with other federal agencies who are investigating Volkswagen.”

Apart from FTC probe, The Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as the California Air Resources Board, are too probing Volkswagen's diesel cars on using the cheat software that voids legal emission tests.

VW is into big problem since it admitted last month that around 11 million of its diesel cars worldwide have a so-called "defeat device" that allows the cars to pass emission tests but eventually the engine emits 40 times more of nitrogen oxide pollution when the software turns off.

Nearly 500,000 diesel cars that Volkswagen sold in the United States are equipped with the software, EPA found that the run shall hit US$18 billion.

In recent times, VW has promoted its diesel cars as less polluting in comparison to the gasoline-powered models. Therefore, FTC has passed a mandate in order to protect the consumers and investigate further into the scandal.

Also See: Volkswagen withdraws its Application for EPA Certification

Due to the serious scandal, Volkswagen has already ousted its chief executive and set aside 6.5 billion Euros (US$7.5 billion) in provisions in the 3rd quarter, and the new CEO has said that sum would only cover the repair costs.