Affected owners must register for the package by April 30. In addition to these, 24-hour roadside assistance is also offered to these customers for a period of 3 years. “In the meantime, we are providing this Goodwill Package as a first step toward regaining our customers’ trust”.
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As Volkswagen picks up the pieces after the recent diesel emissions scandal, the automaker is offering goodwill compensation to owners of vehicles powered by its 2.0-liter TDI engines.
Volkswagen hasn’t announced how it will be fixing vehicles involved in its diesel scandal, but it has assembled a new “goodwill package” for its customers.
The carmaker equipped diesel cars with software that turned on full emissions controls only when the vehicle is undergoing state emissions testing. The 2009-13 and 2015 Audi A3 is also affected.
However, VW said that while no-one would be fired the offer was not available to its most senior managers and directors and whistleblowers could be shifted to other duties.
Bernal believes Volkswagen should have thought of clarifying their offer on its own.
The program could cost VW almost $500 million, half of which could flow directly to dealers. The US Environmental Protection Agency says the cars, with 2-liter four-cylinder diesel engines, emit 10 to 40 times the allowable amount of harmful nitrogen oxide while being driven. The company has halted sales of cars under investigation which it admits were fitted with software capable of cheating government emissions tests.
Volkswagen has said it is already in high-level negotiations with the affected European countries to reach a settlement on taxation losses from the Carbon dioxide cheat.
In Washington, Democratic Senators Richard Blumenthal and Edward Markey on Monday decried VW’s consumer program as “insultingly inadequate” and “a fig leaf attempting to hide the true depths of Volkswagen’s deception”. Volkswagen Prepaid Visa Loyalty Cards are issued by MetaBank, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa United States of America Inc.
Owners will not be required to sign anything giving up their right to sue Volkswagen or forcing them into arbitration, spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan said Monday.
“Volkswagen customers are very sophisticated and will see these little gift cards for what they are – much too little, much too late”, Hilliard said.
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The company said its Audi luxury brand would offer the same award starting Friday.
