VW Cleared to Begin Fixing Cheater Diesels in Europe

CEO Matthias Mueller told Volkswagen AG executives on Monday the company has won approval for software updates to 2.0-liter versions of diesels it rigged to evade emission standards and sold in Europe.

Mueller said Germany’s KBA (Federal Motor Transport Authority) also has agreed in principle to a repair plan for 1.6-liter cheater diesels, according to Bloomberg News. The news service says the two initiatives will cover about 90% of the 8.5 million affected vehicles in Europe.

Mueller added that noncompliant 1.2-liter diesels also may be fixable with new software. The company expects to be ready in December to present that plan to KBA. Analysts predict other European countries will adopt whatever solutions the authority accepts.

VW estimates it will cost roughly €50 million ($53 million) to implement another proposed software revision, this one for about 85,000 rigged 3.0-liter V-6 diesels sold in the U.S. The company admitted last week it also sold an unspecified number of the V-6 engines, fitted with the same bogus software, in Europe.

Software-only solutions will be dramatically less expensive than the extensive hardware updates initially predicted for many of the targeted engines. But VW has not ruled out the possibility of buying back certain diesels in which a software adjustment won't be enough.