CANBERRA: Volkswagen misconduct will hand it a big fine in Australia if it gets proved as investigation is being made in this regard.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said a discovery of ‘defeat devices’ would violate consumer law.
‘As the enforcer of the Australian consumer law, the ACCC can take action against any corporation that has breached mandatory standards,’ Chairman ACCC Rod Sims said on Thursday.
The local arms of Volkswagen and Audi have not yet been able to confirm whether any Australian cars are involved in the global fraud scandal.
Worldwide, 11m Volkswagen diesel cars and 2.1m Audis have been identified as carrying the emissions control-manipulating software in their engines.
The scam has left one of the world’s largest carmakers facing fines of $US18bn for breaching environmental standards in the United States, and numerous customer lawsuits.
On Wednesday, the car giant announced its intention to fix the problem, including recalling and refitting 5m affected vehicles worldwide.
The consumer watchdog has deemed the investigation a priority and is demanding Volkswagen hand over its marketing materials so it can determine if Australian car buyers were exposed to false, misleading or deceptive sales advertisements and marketing.
