Volkswagen Group could be preparing to buy back as many as 115,000 diesel-powered cars in the U.S. as part of the fallout from its emissions scandal, a German newspaper reports.
That number would represent about a fifth of the 580,000 cars and crossovers with diesel engines that are believed to violate their certification levels, says the newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, as reported by Reuters.
VW would either have to offer the refund price or a deep discount on a new vehicle, the newspaper said. The remaining vehicles would need significant upgrades to their emissions systems to try to bring them into compliance with U.S. emissions laws, the newspaper says.
Fixing the older models with 2-liter, four-cylinder engines would be harder than modifying the new diesels.
The mass buybacks results from VW's admission that it rigged 2-liter diesel engines to allow them to pass emissions tests even though they spewed much higher levels of pollutants in everyday driving than was permitted for them. VW's 3-liter diesels have also been drawn in the mess.
VW is yet to say how it will fix thousands of the cars.
This article originally appeared on USA Today.
