On Monday Volkswagen’s U.S. arm offered owners of its diesel cars a “goodwill package” of $US1,000 ($A1,423) worth of gift and fidelity cards on Monday.
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The company revealed last week that the scandal also included testing for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in up to 800 000 VW cars. The first card is valued at $500, and can be used anywhere.
In a statement, Michael Horn, VW’s U.S. chief executive officer said: “We are working tirelessly to develop an approved remedy for affected vehicles”.
In a deal announced overnight, the carmaker’s USA customers are queueing up for a goodwill package that includes $US500 in cash, as well as $US500 that they can spend at a Volkswagen dealership on services.
However, VW said that while no-one would be fired the offer was not available to its most senior managers and directors and whistleblowers could be shifted to other duties.
“They will appreciate the communication, but I imagine that until a real resolution is found that appreciation will be muted, ” he said.
An additional $500 card will go toward purchases at VW dealerships, and the automaker is also throwing in free 24-hour roadside assistance for a period of three years.
The company sold about 482,000 of the vehicles with the cheating software in the USA and up to 11 million worldwide. Affected models are 2.0-liter turbodiesel versions of the 2009-2015 Jetta, 2009-2014 Jetta SportWagen, 2010-2015 Golf, 2015 Golf SportWagen, 2012-2015 Beetle and Beetle convertible and 2012-2015 Passat.
Audi of America will launch a similar program for affected Audi 2.0-liter TDI owners on November 13.
To get the money, VW customers must visit www.vwdieselinfo.com, enter their Vehicle Identification Number, their mileage and contact information.
Participating customers must bring the cards to a Volkswagen dealership, along with the vehicle, a driver’s license and proof of ownership, in order to activate them.
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Porsche owns 30.8% of VW’s shares. But he added: “VW should take full responsibility for its deceit and harm to almost 500,000 customers by offering to buy back defective cars at their original prices”. “Volkswagen should cooperate fully with federal criminal and civil investigations that will provide redress for taxpayers as well auto owners – the company needs to get serious”.
