Volkswagen Canada has recently resumed selling some of its scandal-plagued diesel cars at dealerships across the country, despite still being under investigation for allegedly using software on those same models to cheat emissions tests.Federal government officials are “looking into the matter to determine the most appropriate course of action,” said Marie-Pascale Des Rosiers, a spokesperson for Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna.In the United States, Volkswagen got the green light to resume selling 2015 2.0-litre diesel engine models that are undergoing emissions modifications in two phases. The U.S. regulators had already secured a $2.8-billion (U.S.) criminal penalty when the carmaker pleaded guilty as a result of a “long-running scheme” that deceived customers and circumvented standards with emissions-cheating software. In Canada, the government’s investigation into certain Volkswagen vehicles with model years from 2009 to 2015 is still in progress.“It would not be appropriate to comment on how (the sale of cars by Canadian dealers) may or may not impact the investigation,” Des Rosiers said.The so-called defeat device in these vehicles meant cars met standards during emissions testing, but pumped out up to 40 times the permitted levels of harmful nitrogen oxides while on the open road, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said.Volkswagen has said the 2015 models for sale in the U.S. and Canada have been retrofitted with a software upgrade, and will receive a hardware fix when parts are available next year.“Canada’s vehicle emission standards are aligned with those of the United States,” said Volkswagen Canada spokesperson Thomas Tetzlaff. “All vehicles are being modified in accordance with the approved emissions modification prior to sale.”Volkswagen is co-operating with Environment Canada’s investigation, he said.Meanwhile, Volkswagen ...
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