VW ‘Dieselgate’ US DEAL – 500k cars to be bought back and compensation paid

Volkswagen has struck a deal in the US to address compensation for dieselgate cars, involving buy-back for 500k cars and compensation.

The Volkswagen #dieselgate scandal has highlighted the big differences between US emission regulations and those in Europe, so although VW has agreed to ‘fix’ the cars fitted with a defeat device in the UK and Europe, things aren’t quite so straightforward in the US.

But VW are making progress with US courts, and a deal has now been agreed in principle to sort out the mess that’s seen 482,000 cars in the US fitted with the 2.0 litre diesel engine declared effectively illegal.

The final deal will be ironed out in the coming months between VW and parties like the EPA, Department of Justice and California’s Air Resources Board, but the basics are that VW will either buy back the affected cars at the pre-dieselgate value and throw in additional compensation, thought to be £3,500 a car, or ‘fix’ the car. Estimates of how much this will cost vary, but it could be up to £7 billion.

No resolution for VW Group cars fitted with the 3.0 litre V6 diesel – Porsche Cayenne, VW Touareg and several Audi models – has been agreed, but the US judge has given VW until 21 June to submit a resolution for the court to rule on.

It’s the start of a resolution in the US for VW and its defeat device scandal, but this deal doesn’t have any impact on criminal actions by US courts.