VW, Feds Close to V-6 Diesel Fix
CARS.COM — Volkswagen Group and U.S. environmental regulators have agreed on a plan for VW to fix most of about 80,000 3.0-liter diesels and buy back the rest, according to a report by Bloomberg News.
Related: Judge OKs VW Diesel Buybacks
The agreement would resolve the core issue regarding emissions cheating software in the V-6 diesels in larger Audi, Volkswagen and Porsche vehicles. Citing people familiar with the discussions, the report says that the EPA and California Air Resources Board have agreed to a relatively simple software fix for about 60,000 newer diesels and a buyback of about 19,000 of the oldest models that would be too expensive and complicated to repair.
This would be a major step forward for Volkswagen on the 3.0-liter models because, according to the people who spoke anonymously because talks are confidential, it would save about $4 billion over the cost to buy back all the vehicles.
The company would not comment directly on the report. Spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan said in an email statement to Cars.com, “Volkswagen continues to work closely with the EPA and CARB to reach an agreement on an approved resolution for affected 3.0-liter TDI V-6 vehicles. The court has scheduled a status conference for Nov. 30 to discuss the matter further. Until that time, the court has ordered that these discussions remain confidential.”
Beyond an approved repair, major issues remain to be resolved, however, and the court overseeing the diesel scandal would have to sign off on the deal. The court already has approved a settlement among regulators and owners to resolve claims in the emissions cheating scandal regarding VW’s 2.0-liter diesels. It lets owners sell their cars back to VW or get restitution and have them fixed, but no fix has been approved. Information for owners on the 2.0-liter settlement is here.
A significant hurdle for a settlement is that the plaintiffs’ committee suing VW continues to demand a buyback option for all 3.0-liter owners.
“Any resolution must grant [3.0-liter owners and lessees] similar benefits — including a choice between a buyback or a fix if approved by regulators — as were offered to class members in the 2.0-liter vehicle litigation,” said Elizabeth Cabraser, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, in an email statement. “While an agreement between the EPA and Volkswagen may address some of the environmental damage, it does not hold the company accountable for the harm caused to consumers. We will continue to pursue a fair resolution on their behalf.”
She added that, “Per the court’s order, we cannot comment further on the settlement negotiation process.”
The 2.0-liter deal calls for VW to pay as much as $14.7 billion to owners and regulators to settle the violations by about 475,000 VW and Audi four-cylinder diesel cars from the 2009 through 2015 model years. VW admitted that the engines had software that activated controls during emissions testing but turned them off on the road, allowing the cars to emit up to 40 times the legal limit of nitrogen oxide.
In addition to the unresolved 3.0-liter issues, Volkswagen still faces a fine of potentially billions more to settle federal and state regulatory penalties, and to settle possible Justice Department criminal charges. It also faces several individual state suits.
See a timeline of VW’s diesel crisis here.
