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VW crisis: 700 000 SEAT cars affected too

Berlin, Germany - Volkswagen's commercial vehicles and cars from its Spanish unit Seat are among the 11 million fitted with a diesel engine that can cheat on emissions tests, the company said Tuesday.

Volkswagen has admitted using a piece of engine software to cheat on diesel car emissions tests in the US, where authorities say there are 482 000 such cars. The company says that up to 11 million vehicles worldwide were fitted with the engine in question.

The company said it would present authorities with its "technical solutions and measures" to fix the problem in October. Not all of the 11 million vehicles, however, would have had the software activated, according to new CEO Matthias Mueller.

700 000 Seat cars affected

Details have emerged gradually of how many were made by which VW division. Guenther Scherelis, a spokesman for the commercial vehicles unit - which makes vans and pickups - on Tuesday confirmed that 1.8 million of its vehicles were affected. He didn't give further details.

Spanish subsidiary Seat said it fitted 700 000 vehicles with the EA 189 diesel engines in which Volkswagen has said there are "discrepancies."

SEAT said the cars were sold worldwide and it was seeking to determine how many were sold in each market.

Read: Emissions scandal: Affected VWs to recalled

Also fitted with the suspect software were 5 million VW brand cars, 2.1 million Audis and 1.2 million Skodas.

SEAT and Volkswagen-Audi Spain on Tuesday ordered a suspension of sales of all SEAT, Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda and Volkswagen commercial vehicles with the EA 189 diesel engine. It said this decision would affect 3320 vehicles currently in stock.

In a speech to VW managers Monday evening, newly appointed CEO Mueller said that the offending software was activated only in part of the cars fitted with the engine, so "we expect that the number of vehicles actually affected will be smaller," according to extracts released by the company.

Muellercustomers will be informed in the coming days that their vehicles need work and authorities will be presented with "technical solutions" in October.

Mueller said that, alongside the company's internal probe, Volkswagen's supervisory board has commissioned an external investigation by US law firm Jones Day, and "that will start very quickly."

"Hard work likes ahead"

Mueller said: "A long road and a lot of hard work lie ahead of us."

The German government set up a commission of inquiry on the scandal. Transport Ministry spokesman Martin Susteck said that the panel is in contact with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

In Brussels, European Union Industry Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska met Tuesday with Volkswagen brand chief Herbert Diess.

Ahead of the meeting, Diess said only VWs with 1.6 litre and 2 litre engines are concerned, and for the latter "we are quite sure we can fix the problem with software."

He said he would explain to EU authorities what his company is doing to fix its engines and plan "a way forward."

An EU representative said the meeting was not about fixing blame "but to establish the facts - how many vehicles have been affected, since when and in which countries."

The EU the representative said, who was not authorized to make public statements and spoke to journalists on condition of anonymity: "Both participants agreed that restoring confidence in the European car industry is of upmost importance."

The person said Bienkowska stressed to the Volkswagen executive: "the importance to fully cooperate with national authorities."

More on VW emissions scandal:

Diesel crisis: Car emissions tests vs real world

Diesel crisis: 2.1 million Audis affected
VW's diesel crisis: 'I want to turn in my vehicle'
'Tsunami' of legal trouble for VW emissions saga
Emissions scandal: Now SA affected?
VW turns to Porsche boss to steer it out of crisis
Emissions scandal: How VW's 'defeat device' works
Emissions scandal: BMW implicated?
VW to start firings over emissions scandal
VW CEO resigns: 'Stunned by misconduct
NOx gasses in diesel cars: Why are they so dangerous?
#Dieselgate: Internet reacts to VW scandal
Not just VW: 5 major car industry scandals
Emissions scandal: Porsche head to replace VW chief?
VW chief on emissions scandal: 'We screwed up'
Seoul summons VW over emissions scandal
VW emissions scandal: What does it mean for SA?


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