VW Wins Approval for Diesel-Emissions Fixes
October 23 2017 - 6:10PM
Dow Jones News
By Mike Spector
Volkswagen AG won approval from U.S. and California
environmental regulators for fixes to more than 38,000
diesel-powered vehicles rigged to dupe emissions tests, avoiding
the prospect of a more expensive undertaking to repurchase them
from aggrieved consumers.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California Air
Resources Board approved the German auto giant's plan for the
repairs to Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche sport-utility vehicles with
3-liter engines that will address illegal defeat-device software
that allowed them to pass government emissions tests and then
pollute far beyond legal limits on the road, the company and
regulators said Monday.
The approvals cover 2013-2016 Volkswagen Touareg and Porsche
Cayenne SUVs and 2013-2015 Audi Q7 SUVs. Some of the vehicles will
receive updated software while others will also have their hardware
modified, regulators said. Dealers will perform repairs free of
charge.
A Volkswagen spokeswoman said the company was "pleased that it
has received regulatory approval" for the fixes and was "working
closely with our regulators to develop approved solutions for the
remaining [affected 3-liter-engine] vehicles as quickly as
possible."
The approvals to fixes on the SUVs were granted after the EPA
and California officials received test data and technical
information demonstrating the modifications would bring the
vehicles into compliance with emissions standards without worsening
their reliability or durability, regulators said.
The development saves Volkswagen billions of dollars potentially
owed under the terms of a court-approved settlement addressing more
than 80,000 diesel-powered vehicles that regulators flagged for
featuring illegal emissions software.
A federal judge in May approved Volkswagen's agreement to pay
$1.2 billion repurchase some of the vehicles and fix the rest. The
settlement put Volkswagen on the hook for up to roughly $4 billion
to repurchase them all absent approval from regulators for proposed
fixes to the bulk of the vehicles.
Volkswagen has acknowledged installing the illegal software on
nearly 600,000 vehicles in the U.S. and some 11 million globally.
The auto maker pleaded guilty to criminal charges earlier this year
to settle a U.S. Justice Department probe. In the U.S. alone,
Volkswagen has reached legal settlements with prosecutors,
regulators, consumers, dealers and state attorneys general
collectively eclipsing $20 billion depending on how many vehicles
the auto maker repurchases.
Write to Mike Spector at mike.spector@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 23, 2017 17:55 ET (21:55 GMT)
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