VW bought back 244,000 cars in the US

Volkswagen has told a US judge that the company has bought back or repaired 244,000 of the 475,000 polluting 2.0-litre diesel vehicles after first launching its repurchase offer last October. The car maker pleaded guilty last month to fraud, obstruction of justice and falsifying documents last month, and has agreed to pay $36 billion in total in buybacks, settlements, and penalties. Volkswagen said it repurchased and terminated leases on nearly 238,000 vehicles and repaired a further 6,200. In February, the company said it had spent $4.14 billion on buybacks. Volkswagen has until 2019 to buy back or repair at least 85 per cent of affected vehicles or face additional penalties under the settlement. A judge has also granted preliminary approval for Volkswagen’s 3.0-litre buyback plan, at the cost of $1.75 billion. Nearly 80,000 3.0-litre vehicles, including Porsche, Audi and VW SUVs, were affected. A hearing is scheduled for May 11 to grant the 3.0-litre buyback final approval.