Volkswagen Group (VW) is much more successful in convincing Dieselgate-affected consumers to have the illegal defeat device removed from their car in Western Europe than in Eastern Europe. Consequently, there are still over two million VW diesel cars driving around in the EU whose software has not yet been updated.

VW had promised the European Commission that it would give all 8.5 million affected cars the software update – although it is not entirely clear what that update entails – by autumn of 2017. It was already known that VW had failed to fulfil its promise, but the Commission has recently published updated figures from most member states.

The update campaign was most successful in VW’s home country, Germany, where 91 percent of consumers who owned a Dieselgate car have gone to the garage for the update. However, success rates differ greatly among member states, with the most striking difference being an East-West divide.

Romania scores the worst, with only 30 percent done, followed by Poland (37 percent), Slovakia (39 percent), Croatia (46 percent), and Greece (46 percent). Data from Bulgaria, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, and Slovenia – representing roughly a million cars – is missing.

A spokesman for the Brussels-based consumer organisation Beuc did not immediately have an explanation for the East-West difference. But he pointed to a recent EU commission report on consumer trust, which showed that general trust in retailers is lowest among mostly Eastern European states. “These are worrying findings,” said Dutch liberal MEP Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, co-author of the parliament’s inquiry report on the emissions scandal.

He told EUobserver in an email that more research was needed to better understand the differences. “But it is crystal clear that the Dieselgate recalls by car manufacturers are behind schedule,” he said. Gerbrandy also noted that he had doubts about what the recall actually achieved in terms of environmental benefits. “We need to shift to mandatory recalls in all member states, coordinated at a European level. Not only software updates, but also hardware updates should become mandatory, if we want to have truly cleaner cars on the road that finally comply with the law,” he said.

The recalls are not mandatory in all member states. The highest success rates can be found in countries with a mandatory recall. However, there are also countries with a voluntary recall that score bett