Volkswagen's in some hot water in the US for its diesel malfeasance, having agreed to a $15 billion settlement that covers some 500,000 diesel vehicles. But the scope is tiny compared to Europe, where VW has some 8.5 million dirty diesels on the roads. However, it appears at least some of those cars will now be fixed.
KBA, the German federal transportation authority, has approved a fix for VW's 1.2-liter diesel engine, Reuters reports. While that engine is not offered in the US, it covers some 500,000 vehicles across Europe, as a KBA-approved fix is valid in large swaths of the continent. The fix should require nothing more than a software update.
This mirrors VW's fix for some of its 2.0-liter European diesels, which also require a software update. Its 1.6-liter units will require the installation of an additional filter in the intake, along with a software update of its own.
Meanwhile, in the US, there's still no fix for the 500,000 or so diesels on our roads. VW has proposed fixes already, but the EPA and the California Air Resources Board have deemed them insufficient. Buyers will have the choice of a buyback, a fix or an opt-out as part of VW's settlement with regulators, but if a fix cannot be agreed upon, the options are whittled down to two.
