Volkswagen's US diesel fix could still be months away
This, despite a district judge setting a deadline of March 24 for both the automaker and the regulators overseeing its proposed remedy.
According to the chairman for Volkswagen's passenger-car division, we shouldn't be looking for Dieselgate to wrap up anytime soon. In fact, despite a looming deadline for regulators to approve or deny VW's most recent proposed fix, this could drag out for months to come.
Reuters reported that Volkswagen brand chief Herbert Diess told a regional German newspaper that any settlement would not take weeks, but in fact months to come to fruition. This comes after Charles Breyer, the district judge overseeing the Department of Justice's suit against the automaker, set a deadline of March 24 for any proposed remedy.
Currently, Volkswagen has a fix submitted to the two bodies overseeing the whole brouhaha -- the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB). The two groups would not commit to a hard date regarding an approval or disapproval of its most recent submission. Volkswagen has already had one of its proposals shot down.
This whole thing started when Volkswagen admitted to installing software in its cars that would curtail emissions during lab testing, only for its vehicles to pollute beyond legal limits once out on the road. The feds filed a $46 billion lawsuit against the automaker because of this willful deceit.
Volkswagen did not immediately reply to a request for additional comments or clarifications regarding Diess' words to the press.
