Sky News: Volkswagen has reached a huge settlement with the US Justice Department to address excess diesel emissions in hundreds of thousands of polluting vehicles.
A federal judge in San Francisco said the deal is expected to include “substantial compensation” to owners to sell back or have their vehicles fixed or to cancel outstanding leases.
The agreement affects the owners of about 482,000 Volkswagens with 2.0 litre, four-cylinder diesel engines.
The German automaker may have to spend more than $10bn to comply with the US agreement, according to those briefed on the matter.
Last September, VW admitted using sophisticated secret software in its cars to cheat exhaust emissions tests, unleashing a scandal dubbed Dieselgate.
The deal announced on Thursday is expected to settle more than 600 class action civil suits filed in US courts.
The settlement will also include an environmental remediation fund to address excess emissions, Judge Breyer said.
The US government and Volkswagen have until 21 June to complete a final “consent decree” on the deal.
VW lawyer Robert Giuffra said: “Volkswagen is committed to winning back the trust of its customers, its dealers, its regulators and all of America.”
But the Justice Department said its criminal investigation into VW’s conduct will remain “active and ongoing”, despite the settlement.
Judge Breyer said the agreement does not cover nearly 90,000 larger cars and SUVs with 3.0 litre engines.
VW’s use of the software allowed 11 million vehicles to emit up to 40 times legally allowable emissions levels.
Regulators and prosecutors around the world are investigating VW in the aftermath of last year’s admission.
The scandal prompted the resignation of then-chief executive Martin Winterkorn.
VW’s top US executive, Michael Horn, stepped down in March.
