VW pleads guilty to felonies in diesel emission scandal

Volkswagen TDI 'clean diesel' television ad screencapOn Friday, Volkswagen pleaded guilty to three criminal charges related to its use of illegal "defeat device" software in diesel cars to cheat on emissions tests. Entry of the plea is the latest step toward resolving the criminal aspect of Volkswagen's diesel scandal in the U.S. A settlement between VW and the U.S. Justice Department was announced...

VW diesel cheating produced 1,200 premature deaths: MIT study

2010 Volkswagen Golf TDIIn September 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revealed Volkswagen's use of illegal "defeat device" software in its diesel cars. The software routines allowed cars to pass emissions tests while still producing up to 35 times the legal limits of nitrogen oxides in real-world driving, setting off a scandal that is still being dealt...

Volkswagen diesel buyback: some buyers still waiting

2010 Volkswagen Golf TDIIn October, a federal judge signed the final agreement covering the majority of cars affected by the Volkswagen diesel-emissions scandal. That allowed the Volkswagen Group to start issuing buyback offers for half a million vehicles sold by the VW and Audi brands from 2009 through 2015 that were fitted with 2.0-liter TDI diesel engines. But four...

VW exec pleads not guilty on diesel cheating charges

2010 Volkswagen Golf TDIA Volkswagen executive appeared in a federal courtroom in Detroit on Thursday to be arraigned on charges related to the automaker's diesel-emissions cheating. Oliver Schmidt previously headed the VW Group's U.S. regulatory compliance group. He was arrested by the FBI in Florida last month, while attempting to return home to Germany from a...

Volkswagen e-Golf to end when ID electric hatchback launches?

Volkswagen I.D. electric car conceptThe Volkswagen e-Golf will arrive in dealerships this spring with a higher-capacity battery pack that gives the electric car an EPA-rated 124 miles of range. The number equals the rating of the 2017 Hyundai Ioniq, and is the highest range offered by any electric car that's not a Chevy Bolt EV or a Tesla. Whether this boosts the allure of the...

VW Board vs ex-CEO Piech: rancor erupts over diesel cheating lies

Ferdinand Piech, chairman and CEO of Volkswagen Group, at 2000 Paris Motor ShowStatements from the boards of directors of automakers are generally dry, dispassionate, and formal. So the language of a terse item issued yesterday by the board of Volkswagen Group was remarkable in its directness. Not to mention its inferences about the company's former CEO Ferdinand Piech, who remains a powerful and major shareholder. DON'T...

VW suggests engine downsizing is done; emissions rules are the reason

2018 Volkswagen Golf SportWagenWhen it comes to improving fuel efficiency, simply making an engine smaller is a fairly direct way to get results. It's the approach that many automakers have taken in recent years. They have downsized engines across model lines, usually adding turbochargers at the same time to match the power output of the larger-displacement engines that they...

Which VW diesels can be fixed (updated), and which can’t?

2015 Volkswagen Golf TDIMore than 16 months after Volkswagen's use of illegal "defeat device" software in diesel vehicles was announced by the Environmental Protection Agency, some progress is finally being made in addressing the affected cars. Settlements are now in place for almost half a million VW and Audi models with 2.0-liter TDI 4-cylinder engines, as well as...

Bosch to pay VW diesel owners $330 million in emission scandal too

2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI SEWith a judge set to weigh in on the settlement VW Group negotiated with its 3.0-liter V-6 diesel owners, Volkswagen seems to have settled most of the U.S. legal claims stemming from its diesel-emission cheating scandal. Total costs in the U.S. alone are now more than $20 billion, and among other penalties, VW has pleaded guilty to three felony...

Settlement for Audi, Porsche, VW 3.0-liter diesel TDI owners announced

2014 Audi Q5 TDI, Catskill Mountains, Oct 2013Volkswagen today announced that it had reached a settlement with owners of Audi, Porsche, and VW vehicles fitted with its 3.0-liter V-6 diesel engine. Different remedies apply depending on the vehicle's model year: 2009 through 2012 cars will be bought back, while 2013 through 2016 vehicles will be modified to comply with emission limits. The...

VW dealers settle too; average payout almost $2 million each

2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI Six-Month Road TestA settlement between Volkswagen and its U.S. franchised dealers over the diesel-emissions scandal has been approved by a federal judge. First announced last August, the settlement calls for VW dealers to compensated for the alleged loss in value of their franchises related to fallout from the scandal. Dealers initially considered launching a...

Where do bought-back VW diesels go? Dead NFL stadiums, among other places

Volkswagen TDI diesel cars stored at Pontiac Silverdome (Photo by Jalopnik)When news of its diesel-emissions cheating broke last September, Volkswagen issued a stop-sale order for affected TDI diesel cars. Now that a settlement for 2.0-liter TDI models has been approved, the automaker is also beginning to buy back cars with illegal "defeat device" software from customers. But what happens to all of these cars once they...

Court orders full reimbursement for VW diesel owner in Germany

2010 Volkswagen Golf TDIA lot has been said about Volkswagen's use of "defeat device" software in diesel cars to cheat on emissions tests, but a German court may win the prize for most-creative description. VW "defeat device" software is like putting horse meat in lasagna, three German judges decreed during a recent hearing related to the diesel scandal. Besides...

VW Group plans 8 plug-in electric cars for China

Volkswagen I.D. electric car concept, 2016 Paris auto showAs it works to recover from its diesel emission scandal, the Volkswagen Group is rapidly embracing electric cars. By 2025, the company hopes to be selling 1 million electric cars per year, and plans to launch 30 different electric models across multiple brands in the coming years. According to a news report, China—for several years, the...

5 more VW diesel execs indicted, including R&D head, after weekend arrest

HandcuffsOn Wednesday, six senior VW Group executives were indicted by the Justice Department on multiple counts of conspiracy and intent to defraud. The charges include conspiracy to defraud the United States, to defraud customers, and to violate the Clean Air Act. All stemmed from the Volkswagen diesel scandal that erupted in September 2015. Over the...

VW executive arrested by FBI on diesel emission conspiracy charges

2015 Volkswagen Golf TDIThe head of VW Group's U.S. regulatory compliance group was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation this weekend on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States. Oliver Schmidt led the German automaker's regulatory compliance during 2014 and the early part of 2015. The Volkswagen diesel emission scandal erupted in September 2015 when...

VW ID Buzz concept: all-electric Microbus could arrive in 2022

Volkswagen I.D. Buzz ConceptIf you pronounce the word "buzz" with a German accent, it sounds like "bus"—which is almost surely why VW's second all-electric concept vehicle is called the Volkswagen ID Buzz. It's the latest in a series of concept studies for a modern-day Microbus, with stylistic nods to the classic Type 2 bus launched 65 years ago. It's one of the few...

Diesel owners in Germany who sue VW face significant hurdles

2010 Volkswagen Golf TDIIn the U.S., owners of Volkswagen 2.0-liter TDI diesel cars with illegal "defeat device" software have reached a settlement with VW—and a preliminary agreement for a smaller number of affected 3.0-liter V-6 diesels is largely, if not entirely, settled. It may have taken months of negotiating, but 2.0-liter diesel owners can be assured of...