Audi to buy back 25,000 Q7 diesel SUVs in U.S., report says

FRANKFURT -- Volkswagen's premium division Audi plans to buy back 25,000 Q7 diesel engine SUVs in the U.S. to compensate owners whose cars do not meet exhaust emission standards, German weekly Der Spiegel reported today. 

Audi representatives are in talks with U.S. authorities about fixing 85,000 cars that failed exhaust tests. Litigation has been ongoing in U.S. District Court in San Francisco before Judge Charles Breyer.

Preliminary discussions have revealed that around 25,000 older generation cars cannot be fixed and need to be bought back by the German carmaker, Der Spiegel said.

Audi issued this statement today from its U.S. office:

"We are working hard with U.S. regulators to reach an agreement an approved resolution for affected 3.0-liter V-6 TDI vehicles and thank our customers for their continued patience. The Court has scheduled a status conference for November 3, 2016 to discuss the matter further."

Ryan Beene of Automotive News contributed to this report.