Volkswagen sales fall by 20% after diesel emissions scandal

Volkswagen (VW) sales fell by almost 20% last month in the wake of the diesel emissions scandal, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The decrease of 19.99% comes after VW admitted in September that software to cheat emissions tests for nitrogen oxides were installed in 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide, including almost 1.2 million in the UK.

The SMMT said the car industry as a whole saw a year-on-year increase in registrations of 3.8%, suggesting that the emissions crisis may be hitting VW sales.

EU nations have agreed on stricter emissions testing for diesel cars in the wake of the Volkswagen scandal. Credit: PA

Sales of other VW brands have also fallen:

  • Seat by 23.83%

  • Skoda by 10.98%

  • Audi by 4.41%.

The German car-maker has set aside €6.7 billion (£4.8 billion) to deal with the controversy, and its chief executive Martin Winterkorn resigned.

It accepts the defeat device software was used to rig pollution tests in the US.

Last month, the scandal deepened further when VW revealed it had found "irregularities" in carbon emissions which may affect another 800,000 vehicles.