Automotive News: Volkswagen to Recall 83,000 3.0 Liter Diesel Vehicles and Fund Mitigation Projects to Settle Allegations of Cheating Emissions Tests on Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche Vehicles, EPA estimates VW settlement worth $1B
Volkswagen to Recall 83,000 3.0 Liter Diesel Vehicles and Fund Mitigation Projects to Settle Allegations of Cheating Emissions Tests on Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche Vehicles
Settlement Requires Volkswagen to Offer to Buy Back Older Vehicles, and Spend $225 Million to Mitigate NOx Pollution. Volkswagen Will Also Repair Newer Vehicles to Comply With the Standards to Which They Were Certified.
In a second partial settlement announced today by the U.S. Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the State of California, automakers Volkswagen AG, Audi AG, Porsche AG and related entities (collectively referred to as Volkswagen), have agreed to recall 83,000 model year 2009 through 2016 3.0 liter diesel vehicles sold or leased in the U.S. that are alleged to be equipped with “defeat devices” to cheat emissions tests, in violation of the Clean Air Act and California law.
For the older vehicles, Volkswagen is required to offer to buy back the vehicles or terminate leases, and must also offer an emissions modification to substantially reduce emissions if one is proposed by Volkswagen and approved by regulators. For the newer vehicles, if Volkswagen demonstrates it can make the vehicles compliant with the certified exhaust emission standards, it will have to fix the vehicles and will not be required to buy the vehicles back. Volkswagen is also required to spend $225 million to fund projects that will reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx).
The provisions of the settlement are contained in a proposed consent decree filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, as part of the ongoing multi-district litigation, and will be subject to public comment period of 30 days, which will be announced in the Federal Register in the coming days. The consent decree will be available for viewing at www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees read more »
U.S. EPA estimates new VW diesel settlement worth about $1 billion
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Tuesday the cost of a settlement with Volkswagen AG covering 80,000 polluting 3.0-liter vehicles is about $1 billion, but does not include expected additional compensation for owners.
Cynthia Giles, EPA assistant administrator, estimated that the costs of buybacks, fixes and diesel offsets were about $1 billion, including $225 million going into a trust fund to offset excess diesel emissions. Volkswagen also agreed to pay California $25 million and has reached "substantial agreement" toward compensating owners of the polluting vehicles, a federal judge said on Tuesday. read more »
