VW gets US court approval for ‘diesel-gate’ settlement
Stefan Baumgarten
25-Oct-2016
HOUSTON (ICIS)–German car major Volkswagen said on
Tuesday that the US District Court for the Northern District
of California granted final approval to a settlement
agreement between VW and private plaintiffs related to the
company’s diesel emissions scandal.
The settlement resolves civil claims regarding eligible VW
and Audi 2.0L TDI vehicles in the US. It does not
include 3-litre diesel cars that were also affected by
the scandal.
VW did not comment on the total amount of the settlement.
According to earlier reports, the settlement will
cost VW around $15bn.
Under the terms of the 2.0L TDI settlement, affected owners
and lessees will be able to choose whether to accept a
buyback or lease termination, or receive an approved
emissions modification for their vehicle. VW will also make
cash payments to affected current and certain former owners
and lessees, it said.
VW added that it agreed to pay $2.7bn over three years into
an environmental trust, managed by a trustee appointed by the
court, to remediate excess nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions
from 2.0L TDI vehicles in the US. In addition, the company
will invest $2.0bn over 10 years in zero emissions vehicle
(ZEV) infrastructure, access and awareness initiatives, it
said.
“Final approval of the 2.0L TDI settlement is an important
milestone in our journey to making things right in the US,
and we appreciate the efforts of all parties involved in this
process,” said Hinrich Woebcken, president and CEO of
Volkswagen Group of America.
The scandal broke in September 2015 when the company admitted
that about 11m of its diesel cars worldwide were equipped
with “defeat software”, enabling them to pass emissions
tests.
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