Customers will not incur additional tax costs for vehicles with 'defeat' software

The government has confirmed that UK taxpayers will not face higher Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) if their existing vehicles are discovered to be fitted with illegal defeat software.

Since the revelation that VW have been using ‘defeat devices’ in diesel cars to manipulate emissions tests, the government has launched an ongoing investigation into the scope of the practice.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “Our priority is to protect the public and give them full confidence in diesel tests. The government expects VW to support owners of these vehicles already purchased in the UK and we are playing our part by ensuring no one will end up with higher tax costs as a result of this scandal.

“We are also starting our testing programme to get to the bottom of what the situation is for VW cars in the UK and understand the wider implications for other car types to give all consumers certainty.

“I have been pressing for action at an EU-level to improve emissions tests and will continue to do so. I have also called for a Europe-wide investigation into the use of ‘defeat devices’, in parallel to the work we are doing in the UK.”

The next phase involves re-testing diesel cars that the VW group has confirmed to contain the ‘defeat device’ software, in both a laboratory and real-world setting. These measurements will be used as a conventional standard for further testing, until the final programme is developed.

Further, those owners affected by the emissions testing misconduct, namely vehicles containing an EA 189 EU5 engine, will be contacted by VW who will advise them what action should be taken and who should be contacted. Note, owners of the affected vehicles are not expected to pay to resolve the problems associated with their car. VW has registered the issue with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), the government agency responsible for monitoring vehicle safety recalls and defects in the UK.

Paul Satoor, Deputy Chief Executive of the DVSA, said: “Our priority is to protect the public. We have clear processes for dealing with vehicle recalls.

“DVSA will regularly review the steps VW has taken to contact owners, and how many affected vehicles have been corrected.”

Volkswagen has also announced that the sale of 4,000 vehicles within the UK have been interrupted on the premise that they may contain the illegal software.

The vehicles range across the VW group and constitute towards three per cent of UK stock. However, it is assured that the vehicles in question will be made available for sale once, more when a solution has been found.

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