VW to pay US$1.26b to fix, buy back diesel cars

Washington

VOLKSWAGEN AG has agreed to pay at least US$1.26 billion to fix or buy back nearly 80,000 polluting 3.0 litre diesel-engined vehicles - and could be forced to pay up to US$4.04 billion if US regulators don't approve fixes for all vehicles, court documents filed on Tuesday showed.

In December, VW said it had agreed to buy back 20,000 vehicles and expected to fix another 60,000. The settlement documents show that if regulators do not approve the fixes, the German carmaker's costs could jump dramatically.

Under the settlement that must be approved by a US judge, owners of 3.0 litre vehicles who opt for fixes will get compensation of between US$7,000 and US$16,000 from Volkswagen if emissions fixes are approved in a …