San Fransisco
Time is up for Volkswagen to meet a federal judge's deadline to detail how it will make nearly 600,000 diesel cars rigged to cheat on emissions tests comply with clean air laws.
Senior U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said he wanted to know the timing of the fix and any planned payments to vehicle owners by a court hearing set for Thursday. That is when a deal is expected to be announced between Volkswagen, the U.S. government and private lawyers for the automaker to buy back some of the vehicles and spend just over $1 billion to compensate owners, a person briefed on the matter said.
The agreement would give some owners the choice of having Volkswagen repair their cars or buy them back, but it does not include plans on how to repair the vehicles, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because the deal hadn't been made public.
Those plans, and the cost of the fixes, apparently are still under negotiation.
Compensation for car owners was among the details Breyer was seeking, but the judge was more focused on ending the ongoing pollution by getting the vehicles to comply with clean air laws.
He said last month that issue at the very least "must be resolved" and threatened a trial this summer if Volkswagen didn't meet his deadline. It was unclear whether the deal would satisfy Breyer.
The "deal in principle" includes a maximum amount of spending, but the final details, such as how much each owner would get, are still being worked out, according to the person briefed on the matter.
About 325,000 owners of older cars that require more extensive repairs likely will get more, because the repairs could affect mileage and performance.
Shares in Volkswagen were up 5.6 percent in early trading in Europe on news of a deal with the government.
Analyst Marc-Rene Tonn at Warburg Research estimated the direct financial impact on Volkswagen from the emissions scandal worldwide at 28.6 billion euros ($32.3 billion). The company also faces losses from declines in market share and having to lower its prices to keep customers.
The owners and the U.S. Department of Justice sued the company after it acknowledged in September that it intentionally defeated emissions tests and put dirty vehicles on the road.
Breyer could order an early trial if he's unhappy, but that would divert resources that should be committed to finding a solution, said Michael Steel, an attorney at Morrison & Foerster who has advised car manufacturers about air quality matters.
"If an early trial is scheduled, the parties will put all their energy into preparing for battle instead of negotiating to settle," he said. "So the tool has to be used with great care. It is perhaps more effective as a threat than an actual order."
Volkswagen, however, in its court documents has said, that it does not believe a trial is appropriate.
