Are “Thousands of Audi Cars Abandoned in the Mojave Desert”? What Really Happened to VW Group’s Diesel Buybacks

If you have seen aerial photos of endless rows of Volkswagen Group cars baking in the California sun, it is easy to assume that “thousands of Audis were abandoned in the Mojave Desert after cheating emissions tests.” The images are real. The conclusion is not. Those cars were stored under court-supervised settlements after the 2015 diesel emissions scandal. Many were maintained, repaired, and resold once regulators approved fixes. Others were dismantled or scrapped. Calling them “abandoned” mixes up a striking visual with the facts.

This article explains what the scandal involved, which Audi models were affected, why so many cars ended up at desert airfields, what happened to them afterward, and where things stand today.

The scandal and who it touched at Audi

In September 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a notice of violation to Volkswagen AG, Audi AG, and Volkswagen Group of America for using software that let certain diesel cars pass emissions tests they could not meet on the road. The first wave covered 2.0-liter four-cylinder engines. Audi’s model in that group was the Audi A3 TDI, model years 2010 through 2015. A second notice that November covered some 3.0-liter V6 diesels used across VW Group, including several Audis sold in the United States: A6, A7, A8, Q5, and Q7 in specific model years. Regulators found those engines could emit nitrogen oxides far above legal limits in real driving.

The civil settlements that followed were large and detailed. They offered owners of affected vehicles buybacks, early lease terminations, or emissions fixes with extended warranties. The 2.0-liter agreement came first, followed by the 3.0-liter program that specifically named the Audi V6 TDI models and set out repair or buyback paths depending on the generation of engine and model year. 

Why the desert lots existed

The buyback option created a logistical problem. Volkswagen Group had to take in hundreds of thousands of cars within a short window, then hold them until an approved emissions repair was ready or until they could be dismantled. The company secured dozens of large storage sites across the United States, including decommissioned industrial properties and airport tarmacs in arid regions that slow rust and mold. One of the best-known sites was at Victorville in San Bernardino County, on the edge of the Mojave Desert. Reuters documented the scope in 2018, reporting that VW had stored roughly 300,000 buyback vehicles across 37 facilities nationwide at the peak. Rows of cars at Victorville and other desert locations were part of that pool.

Dry climates made sense. Desert sites offered space, secure access, and weather that helps preserve vehicles that sit for long periods. These were not junkyards. Under court supervision Volkswagen Group kept the cars in operable condition. That meant periodic maintenance such as battery charging and fluid checks while the company waited for regulators to approve fixes or for the cars to be processed for recycling. 

“Abandoned” vs. “stored”

“Abandoned” suggests vehicles were dumped with no intent to retrieve them. That is not what the court orders allowed. The settlements required VW Group to either fix the cars to emissions-compliant standards, then resell them with extended emissions warranties, or to responsibly dismantle and recycle them. In practice, both outcomes happened, depending on the model and the timing of approved remedies. The storage lots were a staging area in that process, not a final resting place. 

Which Audis were in those rows

Audi vehicles were a subset of the VW Group buybacks. In the 2.0-liter group, that primarily meant the Audi A3 TDI. In the 3.0-liter group, it meant higher-end Audis that used the V6 TDI, including specific model years of the A6, A7, A8, Q5, and Q7. Some of those cars were eligible for repairs and return to market. Others were bought back and removed from circulation if a compliant fix was not available in time. The exact brand breakdown of each storage site was never released, but Reuters photography and filings show the lots contained a mix of Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche models because all three brands were part of Volkswagen Group and the settlements. 

Why you saw those photos for years

The scale was unusual. Few consumer-product recalls have required taking in hundreds of thousands of vehicles so quickly. Even after regulators began approving fixes, it took time to work through the backlog. The cars also had to be redistributed to dealers once repaired, or routed to recyclers if they were not candidates for repair. That long tail kept the desert lots in the news well after the initial scandal. 

What happened to the cars

Court documents and agency summaries laid out the pathways:

• Repair and resale. For many models, including some Audi V6 TDIs, approved emissions modifications arrived, after which Volkswagen Group could repair the cars and resell them with extended emissions warranties. These vehicles were not simply returned to the road as-is. They needed the specific, approved remedy. 

• Dismantling and recycling. Vehicles that could not be brought into compliance within the settlement timelines were to be dismantled and recycled under program rules. That is part of why so many cars remained parked while paperwork cleared and capacity at dismantling facilities opened up. 

• Ongoing maintenance while parked. While in storage, the cars were maintained to avoid degradation, a requirement that kept them eligible for either outcome. That detail is easy to miss when looking at a wide-angle photo of a vast parking grid. 

Why the Mojave in particular

Victorville and other high-desert sites offered the right mix of acreage, security, and climate. A decommissioned airfield or logistics airport has miles of hardstand built for heavy loads, plus fencing, lighting, and controlled access. The Mojave region is dry and generally predictable, which reduces the risk of corrosion and mold compared with wetter or coastal storage. The proximity to rail and highway corridors also helped when it was time to move repaired vehicles out or send others to dismantlers. Reuters

How many cars are still there now

The peak numbers are from 2018. Since then the stock has been worked down. Volkswagen Group said at the time that the inventory would shrink as fixes were approved and vehicles processed. Public filings and agency pages describe the program mechanics but do not give a current daily count by site. What is clear is that the storage was always meant to be temporary and governed by settlement terms. The desert lots were a tool to carry out those court orders at scale. 

What to take away from the photos

The striking aerials told only part of the story. The cars did not sit there because the company forgot about them. They were parked as part of a structured pipeline created by the settlements. It is fair to criticize the conduct that led to the scandal and to note the waste inherent in buying back so many vehicles. It is not accurate to frame the desert lots as evidence that thousands of Audis were simply dumped and left to rot. The legal framework and the logistics behind those photos say otherwise.

The claim, corrected

• True: Thousands of VW Group diesel cars, including Audi models, were parked in Mojave Desert storage lots after the U.S. emissions scandal. The Victorville site is one of the best documented. 

• False: They were “abandoned.” They were stored under court-mandated programs that led either to approved fixes and resale with warranties or to dismantling and recycling. 

• Context that matters: The affected Audi models included the A3 2.0 TDI and, in the 3.0-liter program, the A6, A7, A8, Q5, and Q7 for specific years. The storage was a temporary step in executing settlements that covered hundreds of thousands of vehicles. 

The desert grids were a visible, uncomfortable symbol of a corporate failure. They were not junk heaps. They were a holding pattern while Volkswagen Group, including Audi, carried out what the courts required.