Audi to Buy Back 25,000 3.0-Liter Diesel Models in U.S.: Report

A German newspaper claims that Audi will buy back 25,000 U.S. vehicles sold with a 3.0-liter diesel V6 engine.

According to a story published in Der Spiegel, the automaker has determined the vehicles cannot be fixed, Reuters reports. A total of 85,000 Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen vehicles contain the same emissions-cheating defeat device found in the automaker’s 2.0-liter TDI engines, which are already in the process of being bought back.

The brief report claims the affected vehicles are “older-generation cars” that won’t pass emissions tests, but doesn’t specify which models.

Audi USA claims the Environmental Protection Agency’s notice of violation extends to five models sold in the U.S.: the 2009-2016 Q7 and 2014-2016 model year Q5, A8L, A7 quattro and A6 quattro vehicles. Of these, the Q7 is the most plentiful.

In response to the report, the automaker released a statement from its American office:

“We are working hard with U.S. regulators to reach an agreement an approved resolution for affected 3.0-liter V-6 TDI vehicles and thank our customers for their continued patience. The Court has scheduled a status conference for November 3, 2016 to discuss the matter further.”

Until now, all of the 3.0-liter vehicles stayed were in limbo as parent company Volkswagen sought out a fix for the high-end models, hoping to avoid a costly buyback. The fines and buyout costs associated with the 2.0-liter buyback top $16.5 billion.

In August, the U.S. District Court judge overseeing Volkswagen’s American settlement issued an ultimatum demanding the automaker show regulators a fix for the 3.0-liter engine and forcing it into settlement talks. Regulators soundly rejected a previous fix proposal. Audi previously said any fix would contain software updates and modifications to the vehicles’ emissions equipment.

The question now is: how many non-Audi models will now become subject to a buyback?

[Image: Audi AG]