U.S. regulator probes VW SUVs for seatbelt issue

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday it has opened an investigation into Volkswagen's latest Tiguan Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV) for seatbelt problems.

The regulator found in crash testing in last December that the driver's seat belt webbing "completely separated". But such failure didn't occur in other tests, including the German carmaker's internal tests, according to Volkswagen.

"Volkswagen takes its commitment to safety very seriously," Volkswagen spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan said in a statement on Friday. "The Tiguan was designed to meet or exceed safety standards and has performed well in internal testing as well as other third party tests such as the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety."

Volkswagen introduced the new three-row Tiguan in the U.S. last year, in attempts to offer larger vehicles for American buyers. Enditem