VW CEO: Hopeful for deal with US authorities by end of the year

PARIS: Volkswagen AG chief executive Matthias Mueller said he is hopeful the German automaker can reach agreement by the end of the year with the US government on the size of a fine to settle a criminal investigation of the company’s alleged violations of US clean air laws.

Mueller, speaking on the sidelines of the Paris auto show, said he also sees “good progress” toward an agreement with US regulators that could allow Volkswagen to repair certain 3.0-litre diesel engines that emit more pollutants than US law allows.

Speculation that the US Justice Department will demand a multibillion-dollar fine to settle a criminal investigation of the automaker’s use of illegal software to deceive US environmental regulators sent Volkswagen shares into a tailspin earlier this week.

Mueller told reporters “we have been in a constructive dialogue with authorities in Germany, in Europe and the US for the past 12 months,” and said he hopes to know the results of all the investigations “in the foreseeable future.”

VW in June agreed to pay up to US$15.3 billion to resolve civil litigation related to the emissions cheating.

The company agreed to buy back vehicles if they could not be repaired as required by US and California regulators, and to fund projects such as expanded electric vehicle charging networks.

Mueller said he is concerned about the size of potential additional fines.

“The settlement that we have ... reached with the civil authorities isn’t cheap,” he said.

“We have made provisions for everything that we believe we will have to face, including fines, environmental projects, compensation to the people ... We will have to see if that’s enough or not.” — Reuters