Photo: image edited by autoevolution
The government of South Korea doesn't really mess around when it comes to car emissions or foreign automakers that somehow bend the rules in this regard.
After first banning the sale of almost every single Volkswagen AG model in the Asian country, South Korea now plans to outlaw the sale of a bunch of BMW, Porsche, Infiniti and Nissan models after it conducted a rather serious investigation.
The government probe has been carried out since August, and it found that several car companies have manipulated certification documents to make their cars road worthy in South Korea.
It seems that no less than 10 models from various carmakers were suspected of using forged or fabricated documents to get certifications of road worthiness. Among the 10 vehicles, we can find the Infiniti Q50, the Nissan Qashqai, the Porsche Macan S Diesel and the BMW X5 M, of all things.
“We’ll give the companies until the middle of next month to clarify their positions. After that, the government plans to revoke the certifications, ban sales of their cars and ask prosecutors to further investigate the case,” Hong Dong-kon, a ministry director, said at a press conference according to the Wall Street Journal.
The three carmakers involved in selling the four models mentioned above might also have to pay a combined 6.5 billion won (approx. $5.5 million) fine, considering that approximately 4,350 cars were sold with improper certification documents.
Apparently, most of them had documents that had already been submitted for similar models, but it's not entirely certain if the carmakers simply made a mistake or if there was some foul play involved.
Nissan, Infiniti, and Porsche have already decided to voluntarily suspend the sale of affected models after admitting that they have found “errors” in their certification documents. BMW, on the other hand, played it cool and said that the X5 M will continue to be sold until a final official verdict is given by the South Korean government.
The government probe has been carried out since August, and it found that several car companies have manipulated certification documents to make their cars road worthy in South Korea.
It seems that no less than 10 models from various carmakers were suspected of using forged or fabricated documents to get certifications of road worthiness. Among the 10 vehicles, we can find the Infiniti Q50, the Nissan Qashqai, the Porsche Macan S Diesel and the BMW X5 M, of all things.
“We’ll give the companies until the middle of next month to clarify their positions. After that, the government plans to revoke the certifications, ban sales of their cars and ask prosecutors to further investigate the case,” Hong Dong-kon, a ministry director, said at a press conference according to the Wall Street Journal.
The three carmakers involved in selling the four models mentioned above might also have to pay a combined 6.5 billion won (approx. $5.5 million) fine, considering that approximately 4,350 cars were sold with improper certification documents.
Apparently, most of them had documents that had already been submitted for similar models, but it's not entirely certain if the carmakers simply made a mistake or if there was some foul play involved.
Nissan, Infiniti, and Porsche have already decided to voluntarily suspend the sale of affected models after admitting that they have found “errors” in their certification documents. BMW, on the other hand, played it cool and said that the X5 M will continue to be sold until a final official verdict is given by the South Korean government.
Google News