DESPITE a hail storm of negative publicity surrounding the tweaking of emissions results, Volkswagen dealer ATL Automotive is assuring its customers the problem is unrelated to the region.

“We fully appreciate that the issue may cause some concern amongst existing Volkswagen drivers or for those thinking about buying a Volkswagen. The fact is, this is completely unrelated to the Jamaican car market,” said Matthew Cripps, ATL Automotive group GM.

“Volkswagens bought in Jamaica before this issue came to light, and the ones we have in stock today, are still the great cars they were two months ago!,” he continued.

The “issue” to which Cripps refers, is that the German automaker recently admitted to installing software devices in 11 million diesel vehicles throughout US, Canada and Europe that lowered emission results. Volkswagen’s new CEO Matthias Mueller, however, has vowed to repair the affected vehicles and overhaul its namesake. He revealed US$7.3 billion has been set aside to address the costs associated with the fixes.

“The current situation does not concern the Jamaican market for two very important reasons. The most important, is that we don’t import the engines in question to Jamaica. We only import the latest generation engines from Volkswagen. Secondly, in Jamaica we do not currently have the same emission controls in place as in the US,” said Cripps.

“An important point to note also, is that the ‘software’ does not affect performance, safety, fuel efficiency or anything else simply the emissions testing,” he continued.

The group GM said the models affected are the Volkswagen Golf and Golf Variant (aka SportWagen), Beetle, Jetta and Passat, (all 2015s) as well as the Audi A3 (2015).

Notwithstanding the recent bump in the road, the Volkswagen Group has been making high quality vehicles for eight decades. These brands include Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, Bugatti, and Ducatti motorcycles.

Cripps, a former member of the British army who traded in his fatigue for a career in the motor industry, said the brand is much loved throughout the world.

“Wherever you go in the world, especially Europe, you immediately notice that every other car is a Volkswagen. They’re so well-loved with success based on its ability to provide luxury at affordable prices. They used the most advanced technology in the world to create high performance cars that are safe, fuel efficient, reliable, sexy and state-of-the-art. You’ve got best in class models like the Amarok which was Jamaica’s best midsize pick-up for two consecutive years and the Jetta which is making its mark in the compact sedan segment of the market thanks to its great low price and best in class features.

“We’ve only represented the brand for six years. So in the grand scheme of things, it’s still establishing itself in Jamaica yet, ironically, Volkswagen has been in Jamaica for many decades. Nowadays, more and more people are buying into Volkswagen and that’s down to the quality of the cars and the supreme value they offer. You’ll not find that level of performance, reliability and safety for the price. Once you’ve driven a Volkswagen, even just for a test drive, you find it hard to choose anything else,” said Cripps.

The group GM said, in short order, ATL Automotive would be breaking ground by introducing new VWs to the market.

“Next month, we’ll be introducing the all-new Volkswagen Polo Sedan which we expect to take the market by storm. It comes with a powerful 1.6-litre engine, six-speed tiptronic gearbox and 15″ alloy wheels and starts at just $2.85m. We’ve also the new two-seater Volkswagen Saveiro pick-up again completely new to the market. A 1.6 litre engine and an absolutely astonishingly low price,” he said.

“We’ve only ever stocked the latest generation engines from Volkswagen, so anyone is driving a VW or considering a buying one, they can rest assured that they’re buying the best. They’re best in class right across the board; safety, space, performance, luxury, technology,” he added.

With offices in Kingston and Montego Bay, ATL Automotive is also authorised dealer for the Honda and Audi brands. A one-stop shop, the company boasts finance and insurance departments for each brand.

“We’ve got multimillion dollar state-of-the-art sales and service facilities in Kingston and Montego Bay with 200 highly trained staff members. We’re also the only automotive company in Jamaica with a dedicated training and development department and the only company in our market with three master technicians on one brand we want our customers to keep their cars where they belong, on the road.”