— A Volkswagen 3-liter diesel settlement agreement is near as U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer says all parties have until December 19 to explain how owners of VW 3-liter diesel vehicles will be compensated and what will happen with the vehicles.
Volkswagen has reportedly agreed to pay more than $200 million for a special fund aimed toward reducing diesel emissions in the U.S., but 3-liter owners are still waiting to learn if they will be offered a deal similar to 2-liter owners.
VW is spending more than $10 billion to compensate about 475,000 owners of 2-liter vehicles as part of a massive buyback program. In addition to the buyback offer, 2-liter owners qualify for compensation between $5,100 to $10,000 per owner.
The $200 million will be added to the $2.7 billion environmental fund that was created for states to cut diesel emissions, primarily to replace older commercial diesel vehicles that emit high levels of pollutants.
The judge wants both sides of the debate to fully explain what will happen to 3-liter vehicles that have been illegally polluting the environment for years.
Those vehicles include the following Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen models:
- 2009-2016 Audi A6
- 2009-2016 Audi A7
- 2009-2016 Audi A8
- 2009-2016 Audi Q5
- 2009-2016 Audi Q7
- 2013-2016 Volkswagen Touareg
- 2013-2016 Porsche Cayenne
VW previously said it believes the 3-liter diesel vehicles may be able to be repaired, making a buyback program unnecessary. But the automaker will likely need to offer compensation to 3-liter owners whether the vehicles are bought back or repaired.
Earlier media reports suggested a buyback program will be offered to owners of about 20,000 older Audi and VW vehicles, but about 60,000 newer Audi, Porsche and VW vehicles can be adequately fixed with a software update.
Judge Breyer says both parties have made substantial progress and he is optimistic a resolution will be reached soon.
