VW recalls 4,000 vehicles with flawed paperwork in Germany 

Volkswagen is recalling some 4,000 vehicles in Germany for flawed paperwork, according to the Federal Motor Authority.

“There was neglect in documenting what was not in line with the series for the affected vehicles,” a VW spokesman said on Friday, in response to a report in the news magazine Spiegel.

The action will be monitored because a serious risk cannot be excluded, said the authority.

According to VW, the recall mostly involves pre-series vehicles built for test purposes.

The website auto-motor-und-sport.de had first reported the recall.

An internal review revealed that between 2006 and 2018, some 6,700 vehicles worldwide could have been brought to market in a condition that did not correspond with that required of the series.

Buybacks will be offered to owners of the roughly 5,500 affected vehicles, a VW spokesman said. In certain cases, an update is also possible. Further details on the affected parts were not given.

VW said it was not aware of any accident or injuries that could be traced back to the non-series compliant equipment of a former pre-series vehicle.

In a statement, the Wolfsburg-based company said that the sale of pre-series vehicles is legally allowed and a widespread practice in the car industry.

However, branch expert Stefan Bratzel called this representation into question, saying that such vehicles definitely did exist but they could only be sold with the proper labelling.

Source: dpa