Volkswagen is offering its diesel vehicle owners $1,000 in incentives, in what it calls “a first step” toward regaining their loyalty following the scandal over faked emissions tests. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency claims the affected cars, with 2-liter four-cylinder diesel engines, emit 10 to 40 times the allowable amount of harmful nitrogen oxide while driving.
Advertisement
Earlier this week, Volkswagen announced a new, “we’re sorry” gift card offer to appease owners of its 2.0-liter diesel cars. The unaffected gasoline models have fallen just $500, or 4.4 percent, according to the latest pricing information from Kelley Blue Book, which said that’s in line with the average for all used cars.
Under the offer, owners of the cars will be sent a Visa card pre-loaded with $500 and another $500 dealership card. They would also receive three years of free road-side assistance.
“We are working tirelessly to develop an approved remedy for affected vehicles”, said Michael Horn, president and chief executive officer of Volkswagen Group of America. VW says it hopes owners see this as a first step towards restoring trust.
Only owners who purchased cars before November 9, 2015 are eligible for the program.
Next, they’ll get a $500 card that’ll only be good at VW dealerships, so that they can stock up on air fresheners or repairs to their notoriously unreliable cars, presumably.
The company is facing more than 200 separate class-action lawsuits that have been filed in the USA, causing diesel cars to drop in value.
Volkswagen has not said what changes will be required to bring cars into compliance with emissions standards-or discussed a timeline for implementing them-but in the meantime owners will likely have to live with the fact that their cars will continue to lose value. But VW’s diesel decline is unusually large.
Please note that VW Touareg TDI models are not included in this program.
FRANKFURT-Volkswagen AG’s main shareholder Porsche SE Tuesday said its nine-months profit fell significantly, hit by high expenses in connection with Volkswagen’s emissions scandal. USA Today explains: “the offer is also created to give a boost to Volkswagen dealers, who are not allowed to sell pre-owned vehicles or new vehicles fitted with the software until the company delivers a fix”.
Advertisement
That’s not to say that the Federal Trade Commission won’t complain when Volkswagen’s fix puts a dent in the fuel economy that buyers were promised.
