Transport Malta following up VW scandal

Transport Malta has called on local importers of Volkswagen cars to submit “official information about vehicles that may be affected”.

VW, the biggest carmaker in the world, has admitted to cheating on emissions tests in the United States.

Switzerland on Friday announced it has temporarily banned the sale of the carmaker’s diesel-engine models which could have devices capable of tricking emission tests.

“Following the Volkswagen case that has surfaced recently, Transport Malta has immediately communicated with local importers of VW cars and has requested official information about vehicles that may be affected.  This information will help with the necessary checks,” the transport authority said in a statement.

“Transport Malta is being regularly updated on the developments and will discuss the way forward in line with established practices throughout the European Union.”

VW is in the middle of a cheating scandal after cars being sold in the US had devices in diesel engine that could detect when they were being tested, changing the engine performance to improve results.

VW has now named company veteran Matthias Mueller as its chief executive, succeeding Martin Winterkorn who resigned amid the scandal.

Germany's transport minister announced the carmaker had manipulated test results for about 2.8 million vehicles in the country, nearly six times as many as it has admitted to falsifying in the United States, pointing to cheating on a bigger scale than previously thought.

Germany said VW had also cheated tests in Europe, where its sales are much higher than in the United States.