While the international auto industry is reeling from Volkswagen’s admission that it rigged 11 million of its diesel-powered models to pass U.S. emissions tests, Baton Rouge’s sole VW dealership says for now it’s business as usual at the Airline Highway store.
“We didn’t know what we’d wake up to today,” says Bob Grace, owner of Southpoint Volkswagen, which has locations in Baton Rouge and Lafayette. “But we’ve only had one call so far from a concerned customer and actually, our nondiesel sales have been up.”
The world’s largest auto maker admitted earlier this week it knowingly installed devices in several of its diesel-powered models to cheat emissions tests. In the days since, the company has halted sales of its 2015 diesel-engine models of the Golf, Passat, Jetta, Beetle and Audi A3 and it’s expected to recall about 500,000 U.S. vehicles dating back to the 2009 model year.
At Southpoint Volkswagen, 18 affected vehicles out of nearly 200 have been removed from the lot at the Baton Rouge dealership, and 10 have been taken off the lot in Lafayette. Grace says he’s awaiting instructions from the manufacturer on what to do with them.
It’s likely he’ll be waiting a while. Volkswagen has said it can fix the issue for less than $8 billion. But the U.S Environmental and Protection Agency expects they would need a year to sign off on plans to fix the affected vehicles in this country.
In the meantime, vehicle owners are likely wondering what the disclosure will mean for them. Grace points out that the cars are still perfectly legal to own and operate. There also won’t be any problems, in the short term, at least, with obtaining a vehicle inspection sticker. That’s because diesel vehicles are not tested for emissions in the Capital Region, even though gasoline-powered cars are, according to Vergil Ward, who oversees the emissions testing at Benny’s Car Wash and Oil Change.
As for the resale value of the vehicles, that’s anyone’s guess but the outlook is not promising. Already, vehicle owners in some states have filed suit in federal court.
The Associated Press has the latest on the VW emissions scandal.
—Stephanie Riegel
