Volkswagen may escape Dieselgate fines in Germany - Roadshow

When Volkswagen started setting aside billions of euros to pay for its misdeeds surrounding its diesel vehicles, many folks were skeptical that it could ever save up enough to cover its costs. With a little help from the German govement, though, it appears it may not be hit as hard as once imagined -- in Germany, at least.

While Volkswagen Volkswagen will shell out billions to customers and environmental remediation funds in the US, it appears it may not pay any fines at all in its home country, Bloomberg reports. Instead of trying to piledrive the company's coffers into the ground, German authorities seem more interested in finishing up the criminal investigation and ensuring that Volkswagen follows through with its recall plans.

The idea behind this is that recalls and investigations will actually help the consumer, whereas steep fines won't provide as direct a benefit. The automaker already said it won't run a similar buyback system in Germany as it did in the US, as costs would be too high. Europe's emissions regulations are also less strict, making potential fixes easier to come by.