VW Accepts €1 Billion Fine in Germany for Diesel Emission Cheating

Volkswagen AG has been fined €1 billion ($1.2 billion) by a prosecutor in Braunschweig, Germany, for rigging nearly 11 million diesel engines to evade emission regulations.

VW has accepted the fine, admits its responsibility and says it will not contest the administrative order. The agreement ends a regulatory investigation that began shortly after the cheating was unveiled by U.S. emissions officials in September 2015.

The total payout consists of a maximum allowable punitive fine of €5 million, plus €995 million for “economic benefits,” according to VW. The company, eager to put the scandal behind it, expects the settlement will have “significant positive effect” on other legal proceedings against VW and its subsidiaries.

The deal involves illegal emission control software used in VW’s “E 288” family of 4-cylinder diesels between 2007 and 2015. The agreement does not address a continuing investigation into the carmaker’s Audi-developed V-6 diesels, which U.S. regulators say were equipped with similar cheater software.

VW sold about 8.5 million vehicles in Europe that were powered by doctored 4-cylinder diesels, including 1.5 million units in Germany.

About 475,000 of the engines were sold in the U.S., where VW settled criminal charges for $4.3 billion (€2.6 billion). The company has agreed in the U.S. to pay a total of more than $15 billion (€12.7 billion) in fines, restitution to owners, repairs and vehicle buyback.