Volkswagen Gets the Weekend to Finalize Emissions Deal
Volkswagen Group has agreed to shell out $200 million into a reserve created to reduce diesel pollution, a stipulation in the pending agreements made over the 3.0-liter diesels that polluted well over the United State’s legal limit.
The finalized agreement between VW and U.S. lawmakers is expected to come by Monday, pending the company’s decision on what to do about the 80,000 Audi, Volkswagen, and Porsche vehicles with emissions-cheating diesel engines still on the road. Legal representatives for the carmaker, affected consumers, and the Justice Department have indicated that negotiations are still progressing, however VW may still have to go to trial if a final agreement isn’t reached soon.
Bloomberg reported on Friday that U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said the parties have made “substantial progress and I am optimistic that there will be a resolution.”
The Friday hearing had been delayed for several hours for additional negotiations before Breyer gave both sides until Monday to decide whether they can reach a final agreement on resolving the ultimate fate of the 3.0-liter vehicles.
One of the more problematic elements of the deal has been deciding exactly how much VW will offer owners in compensation for getting their vehicles repaired or how much owners will receive for selling affected vehicles back to the company. Volkswagen already reached an agreement with U.S. regulators, deciding to offer buy-backs on about 20,000 older Audi and VW SUVs and a software fix for 60,000 newer model Porsche, Audi and VW vehicles.
The $200 million will join the $2.7 billion Volkswagen agreed to pay into a trust fund over the next three years. States can use the money to replace and scrap or retrofit older diesel vehicles with modern models that are equipped with better exhaust cleaning technology.
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
More by Matt Posky
Comments
Join the conversation
Haha, Europeans don't work on weekends, the judge is probably just trolling them.
This morning (GMT), the EU practically pleaded guilty to being negligent in enforcing diesel emission standards. This means that automakers have a case in turning down claims of European consumers. On the other hand, the American case vs Volkswagen has grown even stronger IMO; the EPA might even sue the EU Commission!