This confirms earlier rumors suggesting that VW will be compensating USA owners of these cars, mainly due to the reduced resale value brought about by the stigma of the emissions issues.
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The package includes a $500 prepaid Visa card that can be spent anywhere plus a $500 VW dealership card that can be used at any of the automaker’s stores.
To qualify for the credit card offer, VW diesel owners must go to the company website, enter a vehicle identification number and provide mileage and contact information. 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.
“We will push to file lawsuits for 400-500 plaintiffs every week going forward”, a lawyer representing the customers said. NOx emissions standards are stricter in America than the European Union, so the recall of US Volkswagen cars will require more comprehensive alterations to the software and mechanicals of their vehicles.
It’s still unclear which cars from which automakers were shown to have high emissions. In addition to this, Volkswagen is also offering free roadside assistance service for three years.
And over roughly one month since news of Volkswagen’s emissions cheating first broke, list prices for affected cars have fallen close to $1,000, Autolist says.
Porsche, which owns just under a third of Volkswagen’s shares, said its net profit slumped to 1.2 billion euro (£848 million) from 2.5 billion euro (£1.8 billion), due to costs the affair has rung up so far. VW said that its Audi luxury brand would launch the same program on Friday.
ALSO SEE: How Will VW Fix My Diesel auto, And When?
According to the letter-penned by Herbert Diess, head of the Volkswagen passenger cars brand-the offer of immunity only applies to employees covered by collective bargaining agreements and will not extend to external investigations that the company has no influence over.
“Since the end of September, KBA has been investigating whether further manipulation of emissions, of nitrogen oxides in particular, is taking place in the market”, KBA said in a statement.
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While Müller apologised for the cheat (which Volkswagen would only admit were “irregularities”), there promises to be enormous consequences at government level across Europe.
