Report: VW May Fix, Not Buy Back Diesel Cars

Volkswagen AG and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) will begin testing hardware and software that could help the German automaker avoid buying back as many as 475,000 diesel cars sold in the United States with improperly designed pollution controls, Reuters has reported.

CARB Chair Mary Nichols said the agency is working with the German automaker to test potential fixes for three generations of Volkswagen cars equipped with 2.0 L diesel engines and pollution control systems improperly designed to operate only during government pollution control tests. Receieving regulatory approval to repair, rather than buy back the vehicles would boost Volkswagen’s efforts to contain the financial and market damage caused by the diesel emissions cheating scandal. Nichols said VW is making strides in its effort to regain credibility with regulators.

“They brought in a whole new team of people to work on various aspects of this,” Nichols said in an interview with Reuters. “There’s just a greater sense that we’re dealing with people who have access to the decision makers in Germany, and who understand their credibility is on the line.”

In January, CARB rejected a Volkswagen proposal to repair rigged diesel emissions systems, saying it fell “far short of meeting the legal requirements.”

Volkswagen officials, Nichols said, have told California officials they believe combinations of hardware and software could be developed to allow all three generations of 2.0 L diesel cars sold between 2009 and 2016 to stay on the road.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in a statement it will work “in close coordination with our partner CARB, will test potential emissions modifications for the three different generations of the 2.0 L vehicles as they are developed and submitted by VW.”

Under the terms of a $14.7 billion settlement with state and federal regulators, Volkswagen must offer to buy back cars it sold in the United States between 2009 and 2016 that had 2.0-liter diesel engines with emissions control systems designed to cheat government tests.

Nichols told Reuters that there been no progress on developing a repair for about 85,000 Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche cars sold with 3.0 L diesels that also have pollution control systems programmed to defeat emissions tests.

To see the Reuters report, click here.

and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) will begin testing hardware and software that could help the German automaker avoid buying back as many as 475,000 diesel cars sold in the United States with improperly designed pollution controls, Reuters has reported.

CARB Chair Mary Nichols said the agency is working with the German automaker to test potential fixes for three generations of Volkswagen cars equipped with 2.0 L diesel engines and pollution control systems improperly designed to operate only during government pollution control tests. Receieving regulatory approval to repair, rather than buy back the vehicles would boost Volkswagen’s efforts to contain the financial and market damage caused by the diesel emissions cheating scandal. Nichols said VW is making strides in its effort to regain credibility with regulators.

“They brought in a whole new team of people to work on various aspects of this,” Nichols said in an interview with Reuters. “There’s just a greater sense that we’re dealing with people who have access to the decision makers in Germany, and who understand their credibility is on the line.”

In January, CARB rejected a Volkswagen proposal to repair rigged diesel emissions systems, saying it fell “far short of meeting the legal requirements.”

Volkswagen officials, Nichols said, have told California officials they believe combinations of hardware and software could be developed to allow all three generations of 2.0 L diesel cars sold between 2009 and 2016 to stay on the road.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in a statement it will work “in close coordination with our partner CARB, will test potential emissions modifications for the three different generations of the 2.0 L vehicles as they are developed and submitted by VW.”

Under the terms of a $14.7 billion settlement with state and federal regulators, Volkswagen must offer to buy back cars it sold in the United States between 2009 and 2016 that had 2.0-liter diesel engines with emissions control systems designed to cheat government tests.

Nichols told Reuters that there been no progress on developing a repair for about 85,000 Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche cars sold with 3.0 L diesels that also have pollution control systems programmed to defeat emissions tests.

To see the Reuters report, click here.