“We are working tirelessly to develop an approved remedy for affected vehicles”, Volkswagen U.S. CEO Michael Horn said.
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For their part, VW owners will have to decide if paying up to $5000 more for a clean diesel engine was worth getting a $500 prepaid card and free towing. “There are no strings attached”, she said.
Volkswagen said it has set aside 6.7 billion euro (£4.8 billion) relating to its emissions software controversy.
A logo of VW is pictured at a Volkswagen dealership in Camas, near Seville, southern Spain November 5, 2015. The company said that criminal proceedings can’t be ruled out, depending on the findings, and that employees could be transferred or given other responsibilities.
The gift-giving spirit of Volkswagen comes in the wake of an emissions-rigging scandal that the automaker is now involved in. The affected cars are all from the 2009 model-year onwards.
Volkswagen launched an internal investigation on September 22, five days after the EPA notified the company that it was under investigation on suspicion of violating USA environmental laws.
Last month Volkswagen admitted installing software created to cheat diesel emissions tests in 11 million vehicles worldwide, including nearly 1.2 million in the UK. Once the gift cards arrive, in about four weeks, they must be taken to a dealership to be activated.
Calling it a “goodwill package”, VW hopes this is the first step in regaining the trust of its customers.
The offer is created to keep diesel owners happy as VW works on repairs to the cars, which are programmed to turn on pollution controls during government tests and turn them off while on the road.
The automaker says customers don’t have to give up their right to sue the company – as thousands already are – but a few attorneys are disputing that and warning customers not to sign an arbitration clause required to get the money.
Two Democratic US senators who have been critical of Volkswagen called the payments “insultingly inadequate”.
Find out if your vehicle is affected by the 2.0L TDI emissions issue and whether you are eligible to receive the Goodwill Package.
VW has yet to unveil a fix for the cars.
The company said its Audi luxury brand would offer the same award starting Friday.
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But even the latter figure was higher than the 86-day average for cars from other manufacturers.
