Report: VW May Offer to Buy Back 500,000 Cheater Diesels in U.S.

Volkswagen AG is expected to tell a federal judge on Thursday it will offer to buy back about 500,000 of its diesel-powered vehicles in the U.S. that were rigged to circumvent U.S. pollution standards, sources tell Reuters.

VW has been negotiating with the Environmental Protection Agency since mid-September over how to fix the affected vehicles, all of which are equipped with 2.0-liter 4-cylinder diesels. Reuters says details are still being worked out and probably won’t be announced at the Thursday hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco.

Reuters says the buyback offer would apply to owners of diesel-powered VW Golf hatchbacks, Jetta sedans and Audi A3 small sedans. The deal would not cover Audi, Porsche and VW models equipped with V-6 diesels that also exceed emission limits.

Kelley Blue Book estimates it would cost VW $7.3 billion (€6.5 billion) to buy back all the targeted diesels in the U.S. EPA is likely to demand the company also pay some form of pollution restitution for the affected cars. The agency certainly will expect VW to repair cars whose owners don’t want to sell.

A Reuters source says VW will create a $1 billion-plus fund to make additional cash payments to customers who do opt to sell their cars back to the company. Owners reportedly will have two years to decide whether to participate in the buyback program or keep their vehicles and have them repaired.