Volkswagen has agreed last year to offer to buy back up to 475,000 2.0 liter diesel vehicles that had been sold in the U.S. and now its plan for 84,000 older Volkswagen diesel vehicles has been approved by the U.S. Envirnomantal Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board.
Friday's announcement covers a fix for 84,390 2012-2014 Passat diesel vehicles with automatic transmissions. A fix for vehicles with manual transmissions has not yet been approved. In January, regulators approved a fix for 67,000 2015 model diesels, leaving around 325,000 older vehicles still awaiting approval for a fix. VW spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan said the automaker is pleased that it has received regulatory approval for the fixes. EPA confirmed its approval in a letter posted on its website on Friday.
Until regulators approved a fix in January, VW had been barred by authorities from selling 12,000 new 2015 diesel Golf, Beetle and Passat cars after the German automaker admitted to using secret software to exceed emission limits for six years. In April, VW resumed selling those 2015 diesel cars in the U.S. and said they accounted for nearly 12 percent of its April sales. Volkswagen has agreed to buy back 20,000 2009-2012 diesel vehicles and plans to fix 58,000 newer ones if regulators approve. The settlement could be worth $1.2 billion if all older models are repurchased.
