US judge approves $15bn settlement in Volkswagen emissions case

Volkswagen has taken another step towards atoning for its diesel emissions scandal, after a US federal judge agreed a $15bn settlement program.

The German car-maker was found to have tampered with its emission figures last year by fitting devices in its cars that reduced the number during testing.

The settlement will now initiate a substantial vehicle buyback program in the United States, although the company has said that it may not run a similar program in Europe or other regions.

Volkswagen is still facing criminal proceedings from the US Justice Department and German prosecutors after its admittance to having rigged 11 million vehicles with the cheating devices.

US District Court Judge Charles Breyer said the agreement had been reached between consumers, the government and the automaker.

"The priority was to get the polluting cars off the road as soon as possible. The settlement does that," Breyer said.

Volkswagen will also pay $2.7bn for environmental mitigation, in addition to the money provided by the company to repurchase or fix the vehicles in question.

Chief executive officer Matthias Mueller has rejected calls for the company to be subject to such a settlement in European nations.

"We have a different situation here (in Europe)," Mueller said in July.

"In the US the limits are stricter, which makes the fix more complicated. And taking part in the buyback is voluntary, which is not the case in Germany, for example," he said.