Volkswagen Amarok owners in Europe will be the first to have the engines in their vehicles ‘fixed’ after Germany’s Federal Transport Authority (KBA) approved recall plans this week.

GERMANY’S FEDERAL TRANSPORT AUTHORITY (KBA) has approved Volkswagen Group’s recall plans for 8.5 million vehicles fitted with cheating diesel engines. However, in receiving approval for its plan, VW has hit back saying this doesn’t mean the affected vehicles have ‘defeat’ devices as defined by EU law. What the?

Earlier this week, the KBA announced it had approved VW’s proposed fix for Amarok and its 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine. The approval by the German authority also applies to the 28-nation European Union.

“VW can begin the recall and inform the respective owners of these cars,” the KBA said in a statement.

This recall only applies to the Amarok, with the KBA still considering proposed fixes for other affected engines in the VW Group. Although, it’s believed the Passat with its 2.0L engine will be the next cab off the rank.

As it has said in the past, Volkswagen has again said the fix will now result in a reduction in engine output or fuel efficiency. It’s believed the software patch has already been distributed to VW service centres throughout the EU.

Yet, the whole thing is starting to take a turn for the weird. See, Automotive News Europe (subscription required) is quoting a spokesperson who has said the approval of the recall isn’t an admission of guilt… because VW decided to accept the ruling rather than contest it. Okay.

“The notice was sent to us, we did not file an appeal [to contest it], and as a result the notice from the KBA became binding and therefore valid for all of Europe. That does not mean that we arrived at the same legal interpretation,” the spokesperson said.

VW agreed to the recall even though the company believes EU law on the issue is ambiguous, he said.

VW has admitted fitting manipulated software in up to 11 million diesel-powered models worldwide, including 8.5 million in the EU and 482,000 in the U.S., where the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) first detected the cheating.

While owners in the US are set to receive $1000 in compensation, owners in Europe and Australia are unlikely to receive anything other than software update being performed for free. It’s believed that owners in Europe will be offered free transport to and from their service centre. Australian owners might receive the same treatment.