Volkswagen’s ordeal concerning the Dieselgate affair is far from over, as a federal judge gave the German car maker a deadline for announcing what it plans to do about it.
According to Automotive News, District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco said he wants a definitive answer on the status until March 24: “Six months is long enough to determine if this is fixable. This is an ongoing problem.”
No less than 600.000 vehicles have been installed with the emissions-cheating software. For violating US environmental laws, the German colossus was sued by the Justice Department for up to $46 billion, while being prohibited to sell new diesel models stateside.
The new limit puts additional pressure on Volkswagen, especially after US regulators have already rejected the company’s proposed solution to fix approximately 500,000 2.0-litre-equipped vehicles. Since then, the car maker submitted a plan for the 3.0-liter vehicles as well.
The magazine goes on reporting that VW lawyer Robert Giuffra told Breyer at the hearing that the automaker is making progress in trying to reach a settlement with the Justice Department, the EPA and California Air Resources Board, stating that the company is “committed to resolving these matters as quickly as possible.”
It’s unknown, for now, what the automaker will come back with, but it has previously considered buybacks as part of the settlement – a move that could cost it billions. On the other hand, after it was exposed, it knew it wouldn’t get off with a slap on the wrist.
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