(Bloomberg) -- Volkswagen AG all but eliminated one frontin the pollution scandal that has plagued the carmaker for nearlythree months, after the company’s suspicions of illegaldiscrepancies in carbon-dioxide emissions proved unfounded.

Only “slight deviations” were found in a fraction of the 800,000cars involved in the CO2 investigation, the Wolfsburg,Germany-based company said in a statement Wednesday. While theremay be a “minor economic impact” from the issue, Volkswagensaid it no longer faces potential damages of as much as 2 billioneuros ($2.2 billion). The shares closed up 6.2%, the most sinceNov. 30, to 131.75 euros in Frankfurt.

Related: EPA expands VW diesel probe to include more 3-litermodels

The news provides a welcome backdrop for Chief Executive OfficerMatthias Mueller as he prepares for his first extended pressconference on the matter. The executive is due to brief reportersand investors Thursday on the status of the investigation intocheating on diesel emissions. In September, the company admitted toduping regulators by installing technology in 11 million carsworldwide that turned on full pollution controls only duringtests.

While the findings of the CO2 probe is positive for VW, “thereis no link to the emission cheating issue at diesel engines,” saidMichael Punzet, an analyst with DZ Bank in Frankfurt. “We remainskeptical on VW as we still expect a negative mid-term impact onsales, refinancing and pricing.”

No fix

Volkswagen’s crisis appeared to deepen in November after thecompany announced that it may have misrepresented carbon-dioxideemissions. The issue was potentially even more expensive andcomplicated because it also affected gasoline cars and there’s nofix, opening it up to compensating customers and taxauthorities.

“The suspicion that the fuel consumption figures of currentproduction vehicles had been unlawfully changed was not confirmed,”Volkswagen said in the statement.

The company, which has so far set aside 6.7 billion euros forrecalls of diesel cars, has gradually made progress in dealing withthe crisis. The automaker is nearing regulatory approval for alow-cost fix for some 8.5 million cars in Europe.

To completely resolve the CO2 prove, Volkswagen will have anunaffiliated technical service remeasure the fuel economy andcarbon-dioxide data on nine variants of VW brand vehicles,including versions of the Jetta sedan, Golf compact and Polohatchback. These variants have total annual production of about36,000 cars, and the data will be available by Christmas, thecompany said. The discrepancies found in these vehicles, whichrepresent about 0.5% of VW brand sales, amount to a few grams ofCO2 on average, Volkswagen said.

Still, talks with U.S. regulators, which are also probinglarger, 3.0-liter diesel engines used in VW, Audi and Porschemodels, are unresolved. Buying back the affected U.S. vehicles withsmaller diesel engines could cost as much as $9.4 billion,according to Bloomberg Intelligence. The company still also facesfines as well as lawsuits.

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