The US Department of Justice (DoJ) is reportedly preparing to file criminal charges in the VW emissions testing scandal.
Advertisement
Other automakers have been charged by the Justice Department for criminal acts related to safety or regulatory misconduct.
The company admitted past year to installing cheating devices on almost 600,000 diesel-powered vehicles in the United States and as many as 11 million worldwide.
“Our discussions are continuing toward a resolution of remaining issues”, the German auto maker said in a statement.
The largest penalty paid by an automaker for intentional violation of USA laws to date has been $1.2 billion, levied in 2014 against Toyota for concealing reports of unintended acceleration in a wide range of its vehicles.
Volkswagen confessed to installing the cheating software and is expected to receive praise from prosecutors for their cooperation with the investigation and agreeing to the civil accord in June that could cost the automaker more than $15 billion.
Reached for comment, Volkswagen issued a statement that said it “is committed to earning back the trust of our customers, dealers, regulators and the American public”.
The charges have yet to be specified, but it is expected to have significant financial penalties.
VW agreed to set aside $10.033 billion to cover buybacks or fixes for 475,000 2.0 liter diesel cars and sport utility vehicles that used illegal software to defeat government emissions tests.
Volkswagen may have already agreed to a $15 billion settlement with USA regulators, but its legal troubles are far from over in the US. The company’s US sales have fallen for nine consecutive months.
Citing sources familiar, The Wall Street Journal reports that the DoJ has found evidence of criminal wrongdoing on the part of the German automaker and is in talks with VW lawyers to propose a deal.
Advertisement
The company stumbled last fall when responding to revelations it deceived regulators and consumers. While company leaders apologized and Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn resigned, Volkswagen’s interactions with government officials were contentious.
