Volkswagen just got a breather of 4 weeks as they have been granted time until 21st of April to come up with a solution in the emissions scandal.
The German company was given time until 24th of March to come up with a potential solution to rectify the doings of defeat device fitted to about 600,000 cars in the United States of America. Interestingly, statements made two weeks ago by officials with the California Air Resources Board, who told a legislative hearing in Sacramento that the cars might not be completely fixable because of technical problems.
San Francisco District Court Judge Charles Breyer however, sounded way more optimistic and was quoted saying, “I would hope by the 21st that as many [outstanding] issues as possible will be wrapped up.”
In a statement issued after the hearing, Volkswagen said it 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. We continue to make progress and are cooperating fully with the efforts undertaken by Judge Breyer, working through Director Mueller, to bring about a prompt and fair resolution of the U.S. civil litigation.”
The defeat device scandal came to light in September this year, and Volkswagen immediately agreed to the wrongdoing, stating about 11 million vehicles have the defeat device software installed globally. The “defeat device” software optimizes their engines to perform well during emissions testing. But out on the road, Volkswagen’s diesel cars have been spewing far more toxic emissions than regulations allow and are in violation of laws like the US Clean Air Act. Volkswagen faces enormous fines and lawsuits globally as a result. The first of lawsuits has been filed in Harris County, Texas for a whopping $100 million