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Megan Gass-April 20, 2016 11:30 PM UTC

Original story: On Wednesday, Reuters reported that two people familiar with the matter agreed that Volkswagen Group will repurchase nearly 500,000 2.0-liter diesel vehicles with illegally disabled devices as part of an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) . A person familiar with the matter added that the Volkswagen Group will set up a compensation fund for purchasers of Volkswagen and Audi diesel vehicles, but the source did not specify how much compensation each diesel vehicle buyer will receive from the fund. Reuters reported that the compensation fund exceeded $1 billion.

In September, it was discovered that the diesel engine was equipped with an illegal failure device, which caused the German automaker's stock to fall into chaos and caused a chain reaction of scandals throughout the company. The EPA found that 500,000 U.S. diesel vehicles cheated in their emissions tests, used software during laboratory tests to keep the cars within the allowable emission range, and then turned off the emission control system when the cars were driving under actual conditions.

The EPA estimates that the Volkswagen Group’s 2.0-liter engine emits 40 times the amount of nitrogen oxides (NOx) allowed by federal regulations.

In January of this year, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) rejected the Volkswagen Group’s proposed repair plan for the 2.0-liter engine. The automaker had more time to meet the needs of its 3.0-liter diesel customers because this group of failed equipment was later discovered.

Volkswagen insisted that its executives knew nothing about the failed devices installed on the company's so-called "clean diesel" vehicles, but asserted that these devices were the products of some rogue engineers.

Volkswagen has encountered more than 600 lawsuits in the United States, all of which are supervised by US District Judge Charles Breyer. In March of this year, Breyer asked Volkswagen to reach an agreement with the EPA before April 21 to discuss how to correct this situation and make vehicles equipped with faulty equipment comply with EPA regulations.

Although the company was able to conduct a recall in Europe involving brief software updates and in some cases quickly adding filters under the hood, the US regulations are much stricter, and there are doubts that the company can adequately fix it The car in question meets American standards.

Rumors on Wednesday that 500,000 vehicles will be fully repurchased temporarily confirmed this suspicion.

Ars contacted Volkswagen Group, but a spokesperson replied that the company declined to comment.

Reuters sources also said that if Volkswagen Group can provide repair services for the affected 2.0-liter diesel engines approved by the US regulator, the company will be able to issue the repair program in the future.

Reuters reported: “Volkswagen will pay cash compensation to owners who sell back vehicles or repair vehicles. Vehicle owners who sell back vehicles will receive additional cash payments on the basis of the estimated value of the vehicles before the emission scandal. Open every month."

A major concern is that the Volkswagen Group will buy back cars from American consumers and sell cars in a market with looser emission regulations. Reuters sources could not say whether this type of resale will be allowed.

Volkswagen also represented EPA in a lawsuit involving the Department of Justice that required tens of billions of dollars in fines for violating the Clean Air Act.

Reuters sources said that certain details of the transaction are still being finalized and will not be announced at the hearing before Judge Breyer on April 21.

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