Volkswagen AG’s $14.7 billion settlement of its US diesel emissions cheating scandal cleared another legal hurdle on Tuesday, as a federal judge gave the automaker preliminary approval to buy back up to 475,000 vehicles.
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VW also reached a “partial settlement” with 44 USA states last month for a total of £61 billion (Rs 600,423 crore).
It’s the start of a long, slow process for VW to clear its name after it was caught programming diesel engine management systems to enter a low-emission (and low power) state when undergoing emission tests.
The owners could use a settlement website to determine how much compensation Volkswagen would give them. Coupled with possible vehicle repairs and payments to governmental agencies, that component of the settlement carries a $10 billion price tag.
As a reminder, the affected vehicles involved with this settlement include the following with the 2.0-liter diesel engine: 2013-2015 VW Beetle, 2010-2015 VW Golf, 2009-2015 VW Jetta, 2012-2015 VW Passat, 2010-2013 and 2015 Audi A3.
Volkswagen has acknowledged that the cars were programmed to turn on emissions controls during government lab tests and turn them off while on the road. Investigators found that the cars emitted more than 40 times the legal limit of nitrogen oxide, which can cause respiratory problems.
Breyer is expected to decide in October whether to grant final approval of the settlement or tell the parties to keep negotiating.
Volkswagen said the settlement program will officially launch “immediately” after final approval is granted by the court.
At the hearing, Justice Department lawyer Joshua Van Eaton said the German automaker had been meeting with regulators in recent weeks and planned to offer a new fix proposal in August.
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“This is a very fair and reasonable settlement. and it allows Volkswagen to turn the page and begin to make things right in the United States and begin to re-earn the trust of our customers”, he said.
