Detroit — Volkswagen is closing in on a deal to pay $4.3bn in criminal and civil penalties to settle a US investigation into the rigging of diesel-powered cars to cheat emissions tests. The agreement, which VW said on Tuesday would include a guilty plea, raises the cost of the scandal to more than $23bn in the US and Canada, blowing by the €18.2bn the car maker had set aside to resolve the disputes. The accord would resolve one of the last big obstacles in the US ahead of the January 20 inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump. That will allow the car maker to begin rebuilding its reputation and focus on plans for clean energy vehicles. "This is good news," Arndt Ellinghorst of Evercore ISI said in an e-mailed statement "The most important news is that VW managed to come to an agreement that allows the company to move on from here. It is a major relief that this does not get dragged into the new US administration." The draft settlement also called for strengthening compliance sy...
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