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VW hasn't asked EPA for permission to resume US diesel sales

VW also faces penalties in Germany and South Korea.

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Volkswagen has yet to ask the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for proper clearance to resume selling diesel-powered cars in the US, reports Automotive News, citing an official with the EPA. VW has had a stop-sale on diesel vehicles since September, when word got out that Europe's biggest automaker installed software in diesel engines specifically to trick the emissions-testing process. VW officials haven't responded to a request for comment from Automotive News.

Once the diesel scandal broke, the EPA revoked certificates of conformity for some models with 2.0-liter diesel engines, and VW subsequently withdrew certification applications for the Beetle, Golf, Jetta, and Passat diesel models. Prior to the scandal, diesels were accounting for about 20 percent of VW's sales in the US. Volkswagen late last month reached a settlement with US regulators that could cost the company as much as $15 billion in vehicle fixes, payments to car owners, and other concessions.

Meanwhile, German prosecutors are saying they won't factor in the US penalties incurred by VW, and that there will be no leniency in regards to how much that country will penalize VW for the diesel scandal, Automotive News Europe says. German regulators are factoring in how much they think VW profited from using the so-called "cheat" software instead of fitting the engines with more expensive filtering systems.

Additionally, the South Korean government said Monday that it will make a decision by the end of July on whether to revoke certification of more than 30 Volkswagen models, which would effectively cause the company to suspend sales in that country, according to Reuters. VW's South Korean sales through June fell 33 percent from a year earlier. The government will make its decision after July 22.

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