Audi to Buy Back 25,000 3.0-Liter Diesel Models in U.S.: Report
A German newspaper claims that Audi will buy back 25,000 U.S. vehicles sold with a 3.0-liter diesel V6 engine.
According to a story published in Der Spiegel, the automaker has determined the vehicles cannot be fixed, Reuters reports. A total of 85,000 Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen vehicles contain the same emissions-cheating defeat device found in the automaker’s 2.0-liter TDI engines, which are already in the process of being bought back.
The brief report claims the affected vehicles are “older-generation cars” that won’t pass emissions tests, but doesn’t specify which models.
Audi USA claims the Environmental Protection Agency’s notice of violation extends to five models sold in the U.S.: the 2009-2016 Q7 and 2014-2016 model year Q5, A8L, A7 quattro and A6 quattro vehicles. Of these, the Q7 is the most plentiful.
In response to the report, the automaker released a statement from its American office:
“We are working hard with U.S. regulators to reach an agreement an approved resolution for affected 3.0-liter V-6 TDI vehicles and thank our customers for their continued patience. The Court has scheduled a status conference for November 3, 2016 to discuss the matter further.”
Until now, all of the 3.0-liter vehicles stayed were in limbo as parent company Volkswagen sought out a fix for the high-end models, hoping to avoid a costly buyback. The fines and buyout costs associated with the 2.0-liter buyback top $16.5 billion.
In August, the U.S. District Court judge overseeing Volkswagen’s American settlement issued an ultimatum demanding the automaker show regulators a fix for the 3.0-liter engine and forcing it into settlement talks. Regulators soundly rejected a previous fix proposal. Audi previously said any fix would contain software updates and modifications to the vehicles’ emissions equipment.
The question now is: how many non-Audi models will now become subject to a buyback?
[Image: Audi AG]
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My neighbor has a 3.0 diesel A6 and just loves it. He brags it's got power to spare and gets almost 40 mpg on the road. I doubt they'll be able to pry his hands off it.
Given that most environmental pollution happens in the manufacture of a car not in its use the American Environment agency should actually penalise VW for poltuting the environment even more when the crush the cars early.