Embattled German carmaker Volkswagen could reach a financial and technical settlement with US authorities over large-engined diesel cars found to have cheated emission tests by October, Audi's head of sales said on Wednesday (31 August). In June, Volkswagen agreed to pay up to $15.3bn (£11.7bn) to buy back and fix cars fitted with a software that enables them to cheat emission tests, but the deal only covered 475,000 2.0-litre VW and Audi diesel vehicles.

However, the agreement did not include some 80,000 VW, Audi and Porsche 3.0 litre engine cars, as buying back such vehicles would cost significantly more for the automaker but, according to Dietmar Voggenreiter, the company could be close to a breakthrough.

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"(We're) in really good discussions with US authorities," he was quoted as saying by Reuters.

"Hopefully in October, latest in the beginning of November, we will have the final agreement with the US."

VW will face other fines and penalties as well as criminal charges over the scandal, affecting approximately 11 million cars, which broke in September last year. It was revealed that the carmaker had fitted many of its cars with software to fool emissions tests.

It was found the cars emitted more than 40 times the legal limit of nitrogen oxide, which can cause respiratory problems in humans.

As a result, Audi, one of VW's premium brands, now expects to miss its annual profitability targets, while the core VW brand posted a 12% year-on-year decline in second quarter profits.