Volkswagen are going to spend around $10.2 billion to sort out the emissions cheat scandal, in the United States alone. The settlement will reportedly include payouts of $1,000 to $7,000 for owners of certain diesel vehicles that included illegal software to help the company cheat on United States emissions tests.
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The Associated Press, citing sources close to the matter, reports that VW has agreed to pay $10.2 billion to begin the process of putting the diesel scandal behind it.
The Associated Press broke the news, citing two unidentified people familiar with the case who said the settlement money would go to auto owners with affected 2-liter diesel engines.
VW might have to pay additional penalties to government agencies, one of the people said. U.S. Judge Charles Breyer, who is overseeing the litigation, set a June 28 deadline for the auto maker and other parties to reach a settlement to resolve the emissions lapses. Terms of the settlement, which is still subject to change, are expected to be released from federal court on Tuesday. The source speaking to the AP said “any fix would be expensive and likely would require a bigger catalytic converter or injection of the chemical urea into the exhaust to help neutralize the pollution”.
A Volkswagen spokeswoman declined to comment on Thursday.
The remainder of the cash will be used to pay government penalties and remediate the environmental damage caused the cars’ extra pollution.
Regulators will not immediately approve fixes for the 2.0 litre vehicles – and may not approve fixes for all three generations of the polluting 2009-2015 vehicles, the sources told Reuters. The company also faces a Federal Trade Commission action for false advertising.
In September, the California Air Resources Board and the EPA both issued notices of violation to Volkswagen Group concerning almost 500,000 2.0-liter TDI diesel-powered vehicles sold in the USA from 2009 and 2015.
The payout will vary from $1,000 to $7,000 to all 480-odd thousand of you TDI owners, depending on the age and condition of you vehicle.
Under questioning from the EPA, Volkswagen admitted 2-liter cars going back at least seven years have “defeat devices” installed to defeat official emissions tests.
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The settlement also does not address lawsuits filed by USA states or investors or a criminal investigation by the Justice Department, according to the report.
