German automaker Volkswagen stated only half of its VW branded passenger car models in Germany are compliant with the latest pollution standard, due to a much stricter emissions testing regime.
Cars in the European Union must adhere to the new Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) from September, however Volkswagen has only gained regulatory clearance for seven of its 14 main model lines.
“The new tests are more cumbersome and take two to three times longer than in the past, even limited edition models are required to be tested separately,” Volkswagen’s Thomas Zahn stated in a call with journalists.
“The coming months will be challenging for us,” stated Zahn, head of sales and marketing for Volkswagen passenger cars.
Volkswagen’s top-selling Golf model is one of the vehicles still waiting to be cleared by officials, Zahn stated.
He said he anticipated the Golf to pass the WLTP standards by the end of September.
Deliveries of cars are expected to slow down in September and October, but pick up again in the final two months of the 2018.
“We expect very strong deliveries in December,” Zahn stated.
Automakers consisting of Daimler, Volkswagen and supplier Valeo have slashed profit expectations, putting blame on a slowdown in worldwide sales caused in part by delays getting vehicles certified to the latest standard.
Experts at Evercore ISI stated the WLTP delays at the Volkswagen brand seem to be under control since the automaker has not resorted to heavy discounting to keep sales flowing.
Nevertheless delays will cause profitability of the brand to fall to around 2 percent in the third quarter, from 5.5 percent in the second quarter, Evercore stated in a note on Thursday.
