According to sources, Volkswagen has a reached a deal with the United States that involves an offer wherein Volkswagen will be buying back almost half a million of its diesel cars which were said to be released with emission-cheating features.
Volkswagen had earlier testified in front of a federal judge about buying back almost 500,000 vehicles of 2.0-liters diesel vehicles that have been categorized based on the amends that violate the United States emission rules.
The Scandal
The scandal saw Volkswagen admitting to cheating the emission tests of some of the diesel cars and it is one step closer to clean up its black mark. The scandal which came to light last year had Volkswagen admitting to cheating its emission tests by using devices that defeated the purpose of the test and made it seem as if the emission from the cars was lower than that what it really should be. Nearly 500,000 2-liter diesel vehicles that include the Audi A3, the Golf, and the Jetta, and a few 3.0-liter diesel vehicles which violated the US emission regulations were sold out in the US. This undoubtedly had tarnished the popular carmaker’s image in the US and now it is trying to beat the system to compensate this mistake by willing to spend millions of dollars.
The Settlement
A federal court in the US has approved a settlement of $14.7 billion which will have the automaker buy back all the affected cars from the owners who wish to get rid of the vehicles, along with a cash reward to the people who had purchased the car in between 2009 and 2015.
Though the buybacks have not yet been started, it should be happening anytime soon. According to a Los Angeles Times report, the owners who wish to sell their vehicles back to Volkswagen will get a cash reward of $12,500 up to $44,000 depending on the car model, year and the mileage. The cars which are still in a lease can have them canceled without any penalties along with the cash reward for having caused the undesirable trouble.
If the owners still wish to keep their car without selling them to the company, Volkswagen will modify it for free and will make all the necessary changes to the vehicle so that it meets the level of the originally expected emission standards. The modification for these vehicles, which have to be approved by the regulators, has not yet been finished by Volkswagen. The company is working hard on it and it should be rolling out soon. The people who have been affected by this scandal will be entitled to a cash reward of $ 5,100 up to $ 10,000 depending on the specific criteria of the cars, irrespective of the option they chose.
The judgment given here by the US federal court stands true for just the 475,000 diesel vehicles of 2.0 liters capacity, and not to the small number of 3.0-liter cars that were also affected by this scandal. However, Volkswagen is trying to have a word with the regulators regarding the 3.0-liter diesel vehicles also and it is expected to reach a pact pretty soon.
The breakdown of the whole returns process has been detailed by Volkswagen at its settlement website, www.vwcourtsettlement.com. Since the settlement has been given a final approval, the affected owners can now submit a claim at the website. The owners can make a claim until September 1st, 2018.
There is a lot more information that should be coming up soon regarding this settlement and about the restitution process of Volkswagen.
