It was predicted that Volkswagen fine may reach up to $18billion for rigging emission tests on its diesel cars. However, that is the maximum fine that EPA could throw at them and the maximum is almost never reached.
Volkswagen has been asked to recall about 482,000 cars by the US government. The maximum fine on each of these cars could be about $37,500 bringing the total maximum fine to $18 billion. While the EPA is heavily cracking down on any offences against environmental protection measures, the federal government will be deciding the fine on the basis of the seriousness of the offense, the damage done and the level of cooperation by the company.
Given all these factors, the actual fine may be much less than initially predicted. Looking at the history, the maximum fine the EPA had imposed was $300 million on Hyundai and Kia, when their vehicles were found to have higher emissions than the allowed limits.
Moreover, the EPAs penalty sheet works out fines through a graduated system which means that a full fine is only paid for the first few vehicles and after that a progressively lower percentage multiplier is used for other vehicles. Apart from this, the company may be charged for carrying on the charade for a number of years. Even then, the fine is not likely to exceed more than $3 billion.