Photo courtesy of VW.

Photo courtesy of VW.

Federal and California environmental regulators have given final approval to Volkswagen's plan to fix or buy back about half of the diesel cars involved in its emissions scandal, which includes an additional $153 million payment to that state.

Volkswagen announced the approval, according to an Associated Press report, and CARB announced plans to disperse settlement funds.

The additional payment goes with the $533 million already paid to California. Of the total, $422 million will go into a national mitigation trust that will be used to enhance zero emission vehicles in California.

Eventually, Volkswagen will invest more than $800 million over 10 years for ZEV infrastructure, public outreach, and access to these vehicles for disadvantaged communities, according to a July 27 statement from the California Air Resource Board.

CARB has approved the first $200 million of a four-phase rollout that will be used to build a basic charging network around the state, launch public outreach in multiple languages, and begin ZEV access projects such as the first Green City project. The four 30-month investment plans will be approved by CARB through a public process.

Electrify America has chosen Sacramento as the first of two such projects where it will provide ZEV initiatives for residents. This will include charging stations and access to ZEVs for car sharing and other ride-and-drive opportunities. The second city will be chosen in a later phase.

As part of the first phase, CARB will fund charging networks and a high-speed statewide charging network in six metropolitan areas, including Fresno, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego, and Sacramento.

The vehicle charging stations will be built at community locations, multi-family dwellings, commercial and retail locations, workplaces and municipal parking lots and garages.

The regulators approved the plan for Volkswagen clean diesel cars with 2.0-liter TDI engines, including the Passat, Jetta, Golf, Beetle, and Audi A3.

Originally posted on Automotive Fleet

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