Sales of the Audi Q5 SUV have been suspended in India after an ARAI test found emissions coming from car were higher than the prescribed limit.
Sourcees say that Nitrogen Oxide levels were found to be more than the permissible limit after a test was conducted on the diesel model. It said that this happened due to air getting trapped in the coolant system of the car. This has led to the carmaker withdrawing the car out from the dealerships. Audi says that the problem has now been rectified and that new versions of the SUV will hit showroom soon.
“The company has undertaken fine-tuning of software calibration pertaining to NOx trade-off,” a source said, adding that fresh testing has been done on four vehicles at the ARAI facility.
When contacted, an Audi spokesperson said, “We have investigated the concern regarding the Audi Q5 and have identified corrective measures. We have conducted testing of the solution in Q5 vehicles with ARAI.” The issue is now resolved, the company said. “The test results for the vehicles were observed to be well within the applicable norms. We have now initiated the process of Type Approval and expect this soon,”
The suspension of sales comes on the brink of he festive season, a time when car sales are on a boom and can be a worry for the luxury car maker.
Audi is part of the Volkswagen Group who been in controversy of using a cheating device to hide higher emissions.A company official, however, said the Q5 issue has no connection with the cheat software case. “This is an altogether different matter. There is no link between the two.”
