The latest information to be added to the Volkswagen Emission Scandal update is that both Audi and VW have been asked to surrender ‘Green Car of the Year’ trophies that they had won for 2010 Audi A3 TDI and 2009 Jetta TDI.
The awards have been taken back by Green Car Journal.
Volkswagen and Audi have admitted to fitting ‘cheat switches’ in about 11 million cars shipped across the globe in an attempt to trick emission testing. Both these vehicles which won the ‘Green Car of the Year’ Awards are on the list of vehicles which have been charged by the US Environmental Protection Agency for emitting dangerous pollutants about 40 times the approved limits.
The cars that have been found to have been accused of ‘cheating’ emission tests include the 2009 to 2015 models of VW Golf, Jetta, Beetle and Passat and the Audi A3.
Recalling the awards, Ron Cogan, the editor and publisher of the Green Car Journal announced to the media, ‘Rescinding the Green Car of the Year awards for the VW Jetta TDI and Audi A3 TDI is unfortunate but appropriate’.
The President of Audi of America, Scott Keogh, said that Audi has garnered thousands of awards and won hundreds of race all through its history. However, the company intends to win awards only in a fair and square play. And considering the recent developments on the emission front, the company believes that surrendering the ‘Green Car of the Year’ award, which represents environmental stewardship, is a fair thing to do. VW of America has also consented to surrender the award.
The Green Car of the Year trophies are intended to encourage automotive manufacturers to invest in building vehicles that combine low emissions, performance and efficiency. Other winners of this prestigious award include 2013 Ford Fusion, 2014 Honda Accord and 2015 BMW i3.
While consumer outrage and corporate mis-governance is creating a big flutter in the market due to the VW emission scandal, another quietly-suffering group is the VW dealer group. Neither legal employees of VW nor the owners of the cars are liable for VW’s misconduct; dealers are, unfortunately, caught in the midst of a darkening crisis unable to extricate themselves from the scandal mire while they wait for the verdict to come out.
