Volkswagen announced that they have reached an agreement with the United States authorities to resolve their civil claims regarding approximately 83,000 affected 3.0L TDI V6 diesel engine vehicles in the United States.
Under the agreement, Volkswagen will recall approximately 63,000 affected 2013-2016 MY Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche 3.0L TDI V6 vehicles with so-called Generation 2 engines to bring them into compliance with the emissions standards to which they were certified, if appropriate modifications are approved by the U.S authorities. If the company is unable to meet this requirement, it will offer to buy back or terminate the leases of these vehicles and may also seek to offer customers a modification to substantially reduce their nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.
Volkswagen also agreed to buy back or terminate the leases of approximately 20,000 affected 2009-2012 MY Volkswagen and Audi 3.0L TDI V6 vehicles with so-called Generation 1 engines or modify the vehicles to substantially reduce their NOx emissions so as to allow eligible owners and lessees to keep them.
Aside from that, Volkswagen will contribute $225 million (RM1 billion) to the environmental remediation trust that is being established under Volkswagen’s 2.0L TDI settlements in the United States to fully mitigate the lifetime NOx emissions of the affected 3.0L TDI V6 vehicles.
As part of its agreement with the State of California, Volkswagen will also pay $25 million (RM111 million) to California Air Resources Board (CARB) to support the use of zero emissions vehicles (ZEVs) in the State.
The terms of the proposed agreement will be effective and final only after approval by the Court, which is expected to come at the earliest during the first quarter of 2017. Until then, affected 3.0-litre TDI V6 owners do not need to take any action and they can visit www.VWCourtSettlement.com to find out for more information.
