Volkswagen will reportedly buy back almost $500,000 2.0L diesel vehicles equipped with defeat devices as part of a deal with the EPA. The German automaker will also set up a compensation fund of $1 billion to refund customers who bought Volkswagen and Audi diesel automobiles. However, it is not known the exact amount each VW customer would receive.
The updates in the VW emissions scandal are based on three anonymous sources who are familiar with the issues, according to Reuters. In September 2015 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that VW had installed on-board software to cause half a million diesel vehicles to run cleaner in testing laboratories than during road tests.
The EPA estimated that Volkswagen's 2.0L diesel engines were giving off up to 40 times the quantity of nitrogen oxide allowed by US regulations. VW admitted that about 11 million vehicles worldwide had been installed with the defeat device software.
However, it was then discovered that some of VW's 3.0L diesel engines including some Porsche and Audi models also included the cheating software, according to Ars Technica. California's Air Resources Board (CARB) turned down VW's proposal to fix 2.0L engines.
Meanwhile, the company has argued that some engineers installed the defeat devices without the company's executives knowing anything about their actions.
Volkswagen is also facing more than 600 lawsuits in the United States. Last month US District Judge Charles Breyer gave the automaker until April 21, Thursday to make a deal with the EPA about how it would solve the problems about the diesel vehicles and make them comply with EPA rules.
If US regulators approve the diesel repairs offered by VW for 2.0L diesels the German company could offer the fix in the future.
The process of fixing the diesel debacle has been easier in Europe. It has just involved Volkswagen's recall of diesel vehicles for a software update, and sometimes adding a filter under the auto's hood.
In related news, Volkswagen will give its new e-Golf a range boost of almost 30 percent due to an upgrade in the electric car's batteries. The battery cells will increase from 28 amp hours to 37 amp hours, but no physical changes will be made to the battery design.
Here's the equipment that found the VW defeat device: