After the Volkswagen emissions scandal, known as ‘Dieselgate’, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Matthias Mueller, is expected to meet with top U.S. environmental regulator next week. High-level talks will take place, clarifying the whole situation started after the car manufacturer admitted to using special software in order to fake emissions test results for 580,000 vehicles sold in the US.
Volkswagen wants to solve this whole situation
According to Reuters, Mr. Mueller will meet with Gina McCarthy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief, next Wednesday, after Volkswagen made this request. The agency has been in talks with the carmaker for a while now, but an exact date when a solution will be ready wasn’t revealed.
“At this point, we haven’t identified a satisfactory way forward, but those discussions are going to continue,” she said. “We are really anxious to find a way for that company to get into compliance – and we’re not there yet.”
The meeting is a result of U.S. Justice Department filing a civil suit against Volkswagen, looking forward to obtaining up to $48 billion in damages, backed up by the Clean Air Act.
Until now, Volkswagen declined to comment or give any details about the meeting.
Buyers will receive compensations
The Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board have been pushing the company to be more active in fixing vehicles affected by Dieselgate and do it faster. This Tuesday, Herbert Diess, brand chief, stated that he was “confident they will find an acceptable solution.”
Finally, some regulators based in the United States said that Volkswagen might opt for a solution which implies buying back about 115,000 cars sold in the United States, as a result of the emissions scandal. The carmaker would either refund the purchase price of 1/5 of the affected diesel cars or offer a new one, with a significantly discounted price. Again, VW decline to comment.
