[THE INVESTOR] Audi Volkswagen Korea on Aug. 2 apologized to the South Korean customers for its emission-rigging scandal, promising to win back customer trust.

The Korean unit of the German automaker also said it will come up with countermeasures against the government’s punitive steps. 

“We deeply apologize to everyone for causing concern due to the latest incident. We especially feel very sorry for our dealers, partners and customers for creating all the trouble,” the carmaker said in a statement released on its official website.

“We regret the Environment Ministry’s stern measure of annulling the certification of vehicles that are currently on sale. After thorough examination of the decision, the company will come up with countermeasures.”

The official apology arrives immediately after the ministry revoked certification of 80 vehicle models sold by Audi Volkswagen Korea for manipulating documents with an intention to cheat on the government‘s emissions and noise level tests.

A total of 83,000 units of VW, Audi and Bentley cars that were sold here between 2009 to July this year are subject to the ministry’s measure.

The Korean unit said the government’s latest decision would not affect the current VW owners.

“We promised to do everything to bring back trust in our brand among customers, dealers and partners,” it said.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)