Volkswagen might have to buy back 115,000 cars from customers

The German Wolfsburg-based automaker Volkswagen AG assumes it will have to buy back about 115,000 cars in the United States of America as a consequence of the recent emissions scandal, according to newspaper reports on Thursday (07.01.2016).

A German daily newspaper said Volkswagen expected it would have to either refund the purchase price of a fifth of the diesel vehicles affected or offer a new car at a significant discount, without citing its sources. In addition to that, the newspaper reported that Volkswagen expects the rest of the vehicles will need major refits, incurring significant costs for parts and a long stay at the Volkswagen service centers, since parts of the exhaust must be reconstructed and approved.

Last Tuesday, VW brand chief Herbert Diess said at the CES in Las Vegas he was confident that Volkswagen would reach an agreement with U.S regulators to bring nearly 500,000 diesel vehicles into compliance with U.S. emissions laws. Diess explained that fixing older VW cars which are equipped with the 2.0-litre diesel engines, would be more difficult than bringing more recent models into compliance with the US emission laws.

At the same time several U.S. regulators and lawmakers have stated that the German car company Volkswagen may have to buy back older models. Diess did not comment on that and did not elaborate whether VW was discussing that, but added he was optimistic an agreement with U.S. regulators would be reached soon.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPA said on Wednesday that "recall discussions with the company have not produced an acceptable way forward. EPA continues to insist that VW develops effective, appropriate remedies as expeditiously as possible."
Last Monday the U.S. Justice Department sued Volkswagen for up to $48 billion for allegedly violating U.S. environmental laws.

Diess also mentioned that Volkswagen AG expected the company would be able to repair by the end of 2016 about 8.5 million diesel cars sold in Europe that did not comply with emissions standards.

MS
08.01.2015
Las Vegas – Wolfsburg – Cairo