According to a joint announcement made by the US Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Trade Commission, and the state of California on Tuesday, German automaker Volkswagen (VW) has agreed to a $15.3 billion settlement package to settle the US diesel emissions cheating scandal which has plagued the company since September 2015.

Sharing details of the 225-page settlement package, the agencies said in their joint announcement that VW will pay an amount of $15.3 billion for settling its emissions deception scandal. As part of the settlement, VW has agreed to buy back diesel vehicles from the affected owners, and also offer funding for the benefit of the makers of cleaner technologies.

To cover the expenses of the buyback and fixes for the scandal-hit diesel vehicles, which were equipped with illegal software to circumvent the US government’s emissions tests, VW has earmarked an amount of over $10 billion.

As such, the VW settlement deal revealed by the agencies on Tuesday marks the biggest-event buyback offer by an automaker in the US.

About VW’s $15.3 billion settlement announced on Tuesday, the company’s lead lawyer Robert Giuffra Jr. said that the automaker “didn't follow a multiyear, grind-it-out litigation strategy” that would have been counterproductive for the VW brand;” and added: "We moved with lightning speed to settle with our federal and state regulators and the private plaintiffs."