Judge approves emissions-cheating settlement for VWs
A FEDERAL judge in San Francisco has approved a US$1.2-billion settlement with owners of 88,500 Volkswagens with three-litre diesel engines rigged to cheat on emissions tests.
US District Judge Charles Breyer gave the deal final approval during a hearing on Thursday. The deal ends most of the litigation over VW’s cheating scandal, which became public in 2015.
Owners of three-litre models from 2009-2012 that can’t be fixed to meet pollution standards will be offered buybacks. They also will get compensation ranging from US$7,755 to US$13,880.
Those who own newer cars will get compensation of US$7,039 to US$16,114. If VW can’t fix the newer cars, then the owners’ attorneys can return to court to seek buybacks. That could push the value of the settlement to US$4 billion.
VW previously agreed to spend up to US$10billion compensating owners of roughly 475,000 Volkswagens and Audi vehicles with two-litre diesel engines – the bulk of the vehicles caught up in Volkswagen’s emissions cheating scandal.
The payments are available only to Porsche, VW and Audi owners who take part in the classaction lawsuit settlement, Cabraser said.
Breyer also approved a US$327.5-million settlement with Bosch, which supplied the software in the cheating engines. Under that deal, three-litre diesel owners will get up to US$1,500 in compensation, while two-litre owners will get US$350.