Volkswagen reaches $15B deal to pay back US customers

By Barry Eitel

SAN FRANCISCO (AA) – A federal judge on Tuesday approved a $14.7 billion settlement with Volkswagen (VW) owners more than a year after the automaker was rocked by a massive emissions testing scandal.

The ruling is the largest civil settlement in automaker history and will mean the company will pay car owners $10 billion directly. Under the agreement, VW will buy or repair affected cars. The suit covers an estimated 500,000 VW and Audi brand 2.0 liter diesel cars released between 2009 and 2015.

In his ruling, Judge Charles Breyer deemed the payout “fair, adequate, and reasonable.”

The settlement was reached 13 months after news of VW was utilizing software that skewed the results of government-mandated emissions tests. The scandal was the largest false advertising case the Federal Trade Commission had ever seen in its 102-year history.

“For most hard-working Americans, a car represents the most significant purchase after their family home,” Commission chairwoman Edith Ramirez wrote in a blog post regarding the settlement. “Hundreds of thousands of consumers were harmed by VW because it deceptively advertised its diesel cars with claims that they were environmentally friendly and unfairly sold cars fitted with illegal emission test defeat devices.”

The German automaker must make funds available to compensate owners and lessees within 10 days and immediately begin buying back or repairing vehicles. Owners have until Sept. 1, 2018, to make a claim and VW estimates it will start compensating those affected by the middle of next month.

“Final approval of the 2.0L TDI settlement is an important milestone in our journey to making things right in the United States, and we appreciate the efforts of all parties involved in this process,” Volkswagen Group of America CEO Hinrich Woebcken said in a statement. “Volkswagen is committed to ensuring that the program is now carried out as seamlessly as possible for our affected customers and has devoted significant resources and personnel to making their experience a positive one,” he added.