It’s been nearly four months since the news broke that Volkswagen had been cheating to get around diesel emissions standards, but the scandal is far from over. The federal government has filed suit against the German automaker, and today we learned that the Department of Justice is seeking up to $48 billion in penalties.
Reuters reports that Volkswagen could face fines of as much as $37,500 per affected vehicle for each of two separate violations, $3750 for every “defeat device,” and an additional $37,500 for each day of violation. Those fines would have to be paid for the nearly 600,000 cars sold in the U.S. with the cheating software installed.
This lawsuit isn’t unexpected, but, as Reuters points out, Volkswagen will likely pay significantly less than that initial number. Toyota, for example, was sued by the U.S. government several years ago for $58 billion for violating certain environmental regulations, but it ended up settling for only $34 million. But lawsuits aren’t the only problems Volkswagen faces: The automaker needs to come up with a fix for its 2.0-liter diesel engines here in the U.S., and the company reportedly is still struggling to find a solution.

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A mid-January...