Volkswagen has until March 24 to state whether it has a definitive fix to the status of the emissions issue which led the German automaker into a global scandal and numerous lawsuits.
Charles Breyer, U.S. District Judge in San Francisco, says Volkswagen should soon be able to provide an update on the fix given the fact that it will be six months since the company admitted in September 2015 that it used "cheating" software.
Volkswagen admitted that the software was installed with the intention to curb emissions test results in order to pass U.S. regulations.
As Reuters reports, Breyer believes six months is long enough for the automaker to find out if the emissions issue is fixable or not. He also believes that it is an ongoing problem.
Volkswagen actually had a fix and even came up with a proposal last month which the company submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
Since the automaker's proposal was deliberately turned down, it has yet to reach an agreement to launch a recall program involving almost 600,000 affected cars in the United States.
The company's recall in Europe wherein 8.5 million vehicles are involved is now underway.
Volkswagen is currently facing a $46 billion lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department last month for the charge of violating the environmental laws in the United States. As a result, the company, along with its Porsche and Audi brands, have been banned from entering the U.S. market with new 2016 diesel car models.
More than 500 car owners and dealers in the United States have also filed lawsuits against the carmaker. Their allegations state that the company had knowingly compromised its diesel cars in order to pass the government-regulated emissions tests and that it participated in the fraudulent marketing of the models in the nation.
These class-action lawsuits against the carmaker are just the icing on the cake, as the company also faces high costs incurred from recalls and regulatory fines that are issued by the affected countries.
Robert Giuffra, Volkswagen's legal representative, told Breyer at the court proceeding that the carmaker is doing some progress in coming up with a settlement agreement with the Justice Department, EPA and CARB. When asked about the details of the settlement, Giuffra declined to discuss the specifics following the advice of the Justice Department.
Volkswagen had to postpone the announcement of its 2015 results and had to delay its annual shareholders' meeting because of the difficulties involved in determining the exact price it had to spend on the scandal.
