Brazil fines Volkswagen US$13m over emissions cheating

[BRASÍLIA] Brazil said on Thursday it is fining Volkswagen US$13.2 million over the German auto giant's emissions cheating scheme.

The environmental agency Ibama said it notified Volkswagen that it must also present a plan for correcting recalled cars so that "they meet the emissions standards as required under Brazilian norms."

Volkswagen announced the recall of 17,057 Amarok trucks sold in Brazil as part of a much bigger scandal over the sale of vehicles fitted with software that allows cheating during government emissions tests.

The German group said in a statement that Amaroks built with diesel engines in Argentina in 2011, and some models in 2012, were equipped with the software.

No Volkswagen vehicles sold in Brazil since then are affected, the statement said.

The German auto giant was plunged into the biggest crisis in its history after revealing that it had fitted 11 million of its diesel vehicles with software designed to cheat official pollution tests.

AFP