Volkswagen Reaches Tentative Agreement with US Authorities Regarding Emissions Scandal Compensation

Volkswagen has reached a tentative agreement with US federal authorities over compensations to owners of hundreds of thousands of diesel vehicles that have been affected by the emissions scandal. As part of a deal overseen by a federal judge in San Francisco, there is a possibility that the company might buy back these vehicles and offer additional compensation to these car owners for the company’s deliberate cheating in the emissions tests.

The specifics of the agreement are not clear. However, according to the German newspaper, Die Welt, each motorist may get an amount to the tune of USD 5000 per vehicle.

The agreement will be submitted in court by June 21 this year, and pertains to about 480,000 vehicles equipped with 2.0-liter diesel engines. The owners can choose to either have their vehicle modified to meet emissions criteria or sell it back to the company.

The agreement does not apply to approximately 80,000 TDI vehicles having 3.0-liter engines. The terms of the compensation for the owners of these vehicles are still under discussion.

“The deal will allow the German manufacturer to bring some certainty back to its operations, while also providing relief to disgruntled drivers,” said Tom Young, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the case.

This agreement that has been reached under the supervision of a federal judge is the first step Volkswagen has taken to refurbish its image after the scandal broke in September 2015. But it will be a while before a clearer picture emerges about the compensation that owners of the vehicles affected by the scandal will receive from the company.

The agreement will end up costing Volkswagen billions and also makes it compulsory for the company to set up a fund for environmental “remediation”, to some extent offsetting the damage caused by almost 600,000 cars which had emissions that were almost 40 times more noxious than those permitted under the provisions of the Clean Air Act.

Volkswagen had announced through a written a statement that it is committed to earning back the trust of its customers, dealers, the American public and regulators. These agreements regarding the compensation to the buyers of the vehicles affected by the scandal are the first step to regaining the standing it had before among the general public.