VW CEO plans to submit emissions fixes to EPA chief

Thomson ReutersVolkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller leaves after making statement at the VW factory in WolfsburgFRANKFURT (Reuters) – German automaker Volkswagen may end up buying back some cars affected by the emissions scandal, its chief executive told CNBC in an interview.

Mueller is due to meet with the head of the EPA on Wednesday of this week, as press days of the Detroit auto show wind down, in addition to meeting with US lawmakers. Horn said the VW brand was unlikely to see higher US sales in 2016, noting that growth wasn’t the brand’s biggest priority at the moment.

German media reports have given an indication of what VW might do to fix the cars, but the automaker hasn’t provided a response.

Volkswagen AG said on Friday its world-wide sales declined in 2015 for the first time since 2002 in the wake of an emissions-cheating scandal that hit the company in September, according to The Wall Street Journal. Mueller confirmed Sunday that it may be possible to fix as many as about 430,000 vehicles by adding a newly-developed SCR catalytic converter, though the actual number could vary and depends on the EPA’s approval.

An investigation by 48 USA state legal defenders is attempting to determine how Volkswagen was able to sell its “clean diesel” cars for seven years, all the while with emissions “defeat devices” installed on the cars.

Meanwhile, government frustration with Volkswagen’s handling of the crisis, both before and after the violations came to light, appears to be growing.

11 million diesel cars were affected worldwide, including models of the Audi, Porsche, SEAT, Skoda and VW brands.

He said VW will introduce 20 more electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids by 2020 as it looks for another strategy besides diesels.

Mueller will maintain its planned $900 million expansion of its Chattanooga, Tenn. plant, which will get 2,000 additional jobs.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has to give its opinion on the solutions submitted by Volkswagen on January 14th. At Detroit, VW showed a concept for a longer version of its Tiguan – the only SUV it now offers in the USA – that will start production in 2017.

Mueller also apologized once again for the automaker’s emissions violations and pledged to regain the public’s trust, but he appeared to draw a line between the accusations and the U.S. Justice Department’s criminal probe into the company’s actions.

DETROIT, United States-Embattled German auto giant Volkswagen vowed Monday to reconquer the hearts of American vehicle consumers as it struggles to shift focus away from the still-unresolved emissions cheating scandal.