New tests force VW production shut down amidst Porsche manipulated engines recall.
A switch to the new Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) test standards means that VW will need to plan when to shut down its main German plant in Wolfsburg.
"We will only build vehicles after the works holiday that fulfill the new standards. The deliveries will take place gradually as soon as the necessary approvals are there," CEO Herbert Diess told staff, according to a company statement.
With the new standard starting on 1st September, the company's test rigs will be operating round-the-clock as they test more than 200 model variants and have them type-approved within a very short space of time.
Meanwhile, illegal software functions have led to VW subsidiary brand, Porsche, recalling almost 60,000 diesel Cayenne and Macan SUVs in Europe. Inspections revealed software capable of reducing emissions controls for smog-inducing nitrogen oxides, the German transport ministry KBA said.
VW rival, Audi, is predicting more vehicle recalls as Germany's automotive watchdog examines vehicles sold in Europe. The company will begin tests on about 850,000 cars in July, having faced its own recall crisis at the start of the year.