At a hearing earlier this week in San Francisco, U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer gave Volkswagen an extension of one month to present a plan to fix its diesel engines.
ABC News reported the plan will have to be acceptable to both the California Clean Air Authority and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for diesel engines emitting more than the acceptable limits of nitrogen oxides. The company has until April 21 to show some results or it will face trial later this year, the judge said.
The plan would have to have a fix for 600,000 Audi, Volkswagen and Porsche vehicles in the U.S., including whether the company will pay car owners. The company allegedly cheated on diesel emission standards tests on 11 million cars globally. But during the hearing on Thursday, Volkswagen lawyers said the company is still “working on the problem.”
According to Gas2, in a statement released after the hearing, VW said, “Volkswagen is committed to resolving the U.S. regulatory investigation into the diesel emissions matter as quickly as possible and to implementing a solution for affected vehicles, as we work to earn back the trust of our customers and dealers and the public.”
In September, according to CBC News, Volkswagen admitted it used illegal “defeat device” software after regulators discovered that Volkswagen’s diesel cars were emitting 10 to 40 times the federal legal limit of nitrogen oxide. Former FBI Director Robert Mueller was appointed as Special Master to try to reach a settlement acceptable to all parties.
