Volkswagen coughs up £193 MILLION to draw a line under Dieslegate in the UK

Volkswagen is to pay £193 million to settle ‘Dieselgate’ claims in the UK, drawing a line under the seven-year-old scandal.

It’s almost seven years since the Volkswagen Dieselgate scandal first reared its head as the world discovered VW had been fitting ‘Defeat Devices‘ to its cars to cover excess NOx emissions, since when VW has forked out some £25 billion in fines and penalties to atone for their sins.

Now, in an out of court settlement, VW has agreed to pay £193 million to settle UK claims for compensation for buyers who were misled, as well as coughing up legal costs. Although VW still denies any liability and says the settlement is a prudent commercial decision.

The claims, brought in a group action by law firms Slater and Gordon, Leigh Day and PGMBM, will now be settled with the 91,000 claimants with each getting a bit over £2k. VW will also be paying their legal costs.

VW’s Chief Legal Officier, Philip Haarmann, said:

The Volkswagen Group is pleased that we have been able to conclude this long-running litigation in England & Wales. The settlement is another important milestone as the Volkswagen Group continues to move beyond the deeply regrettable events leading up to September 2015.