Switzerland bans sales of Volkswagen cars

Switzerland has banned the sale of Volkswagen Group cars equipped with software designed to skirt emissions regulations in the wake of an emissions-rigging scandal that erupted in the United States earlier this month.

Thomas Rohrbach, spokesman for the Swiss federal office of roadways, said Friday that the ban is on all cars with diesel engines in the “euro 5” emissions category. It includes all VW models — as well as Seat, Skodas and other vehicle brands owned by Volkswagen Group.

But the ban only affects cars not yet sold or registered, not ones already in circulation. It also doesn’t apply to cars currently in production with “euro 6” engines, which aren’t affected by the emissions scandal.

Rohrbach said the ban could potentially affect 180,000 vehicles in Switzerland that have 1.2-liter, 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter diesel engines.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said that Volkswagen intentionally skirted clean air laws by employing software that enabled about 500,000 of its diesel cars to emit fewer smog-causing pollutants during testing than in real-world driving conditions, where they could emit as much as 40 times the legal pollution limit.

Volkswagen has since admitted to the charges, and stated that the scandal involves an estimated 11 million vehicles worldwide. The automaker, which is cooperating with a U.S. investigation, has apologized and fired top executives in an effort to make amends. It faces as much as $18 billion in fines in the U.S. alone.

Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller, who was appointed on Friday after the previous chief resigned due to the scandal, has pledged to do everything possible to win back the trust of consumers and the general public.

Wire services