Volkswagen car owners in the US affected by the diesel emissions scandal could receive up to $7000 (£4700) in compensation as part of a $10 billion (£6.7 billion) settlement from the manufacturer, reports suggest.
Cash payments from around $1000 (£600) to $7000 (£4700) may be offered to owners, depending on the car’s age and other factors, with the settlement proposal set to be sent to a federal judge for approval by June 28. The amount could still change before then.
That payment would compensate 482,000 owners of 2.0-litre diesel cars fitted with a defeat device, but VW is still facing accusations over its 3.0-litre diesel engines as well as fines from US regulators and potential criminal charges. It is still expected that European VW owners will not receive compensation, because the firm maintains it didn't break any laws in the territory.
VW CEO Matthias Müller addressed shareholders on Wednesday, issuing an apology for the company’s actions, but failed to announce a figure for how much the emissions scandal would set the company back before a final deal was agreed with US authorities.
The manufacturer recently outlined its ‘2025 Strategy’ which looks to significantly escalate its electric car lineup in the future in an attempt to repair its image, but German authorities are currently pushing for investigations into VW’s former board members in the wake of dieselgate.
When contacted by Autocar, Volkswagen UK said it could not comment on the reports.
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The way I see.....
The way I see it, the damage
The reason this money is being paid to the customer in the US, it's what their litigation society demands.
What is the rest of the world going to get? Nowt, I'd guess.
Surely it would be more sensible to penalise VW world wide by fining them and putting the money in to a legitimate environmental scheme, that really does make a difference. That way, everyone wins.
yes but...
But then we're back to the question what have VW done wrong to other customers?
To pass US emissions test, VW cheated therefore they deserve to be fined. But here in the UK how have they cheated us? Do we stipulate a Nox figure? Few if any of us had ever heard of Nox figures, it never concerned us. Now if VW cheated on their EU economy figures or the Co2 output on which our tax is based then of course they should be fined. But I haven't heard anyone claim those figures are incorrect.
PS thanks for showing me the syntax to make new paragraphs - didn't realise this until I copied your post. PP
@Fadyady
Anyway, for the record I have a 2009 diesel Passat which has done 140,000 kilometres (around 85,000 of your miles)with hardly a glitch. It consumes fuel at the rate of 5l/100k (around 55mpg)on the freeway at 100kph and 7.5l/100km (~45mpg) around town. So I have no complaints at all and will not be having the CPU "upgraded" to (perhaps) lower emissions at the expense of performance.