Facing pressure from environmental groups and the government, Volkswagen has agreed to hardware retrofit select models of older diesel vehicles as well as offer incentives to swap selected older models of diesel vehicles for newer ones, in the country.

As per a source familiar with the matter at hand, Volkswagen will support hardware retrofits for older diesel vehicles as well as offer incentives for drivers to swap selected older models of diesel vehicles for newer ones.

During a conversation with German Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer, VW’s CEO Herbert Diess had pledged to back a solution to help fund installing more effective exhaust filters, said Germany’s Spiegel Online.

The agreement precedes a diesel summit to be held by the German government on Friday.

While Scheuer ruled out taxpayers contributing to retrofits, VW had ruled out a proposal which laid the burden of retrofitting older diesel vehicles with more effective exhaust filters on carmakers, said the source.

In a change of strategy, VW has agreed to retrofit selected older diesel vehicles with better catalytic converters.

German cities have been sued by environmental groups for repeatedly flouting European clean air rules, a step that has led courts to propose banning of older diesel vehicles as a way to cut pollution from particulate matter and nitrogen oxides.

Carmakers are now scrambling to reduce their diesel vehicles models.