Volkswagen Given Until April 21 to Fix Diesel Engines

A federal judge has given Volkswagen and regulators until April 21 to agree on a fix for the diesel vehicles affected by the automaker’s emissions cheating scandal, Reuters reports.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer originally set the deadline for March 24 after months of talks between VW, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the California Air Resources Board. However, during a hearing on Thursday, the automaker and regulators said progress has been made but a settlement has not yet been reached.

The fix could involve buybacks or repairing around 580,000 U.S. vehicles, according to Breyer, but he didn’t elaborate. One central issue is whether the EPA would accept a fix that doesn’t completely address the emissions problem. Earlier this month, a California official said that the state may allow VW vehicles that are partially repaired to continue operating since it may be impossible to fully fix the affected cars.

If a deal isn’t reached by April 21, Breyer said he would consider holding a trial this summer to address the vehicles that are emitting up to 40 times the legally allowed amount of pollution in real world driving situations. Last month, the Justice Department sued VW for up to $46 billion for violating environmental laws. VW and its subsidiaries currently cannot sell 2016 vehicles powered by diesel engines in the U.S., and the automaker currently faces more than 500 U.S. civil lawsuits.

Source: Reuters

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