MOTORING NEWS - The Volkswagen (VW) Group continues to work through a long list of civil and criminal lawsuits over its diesel emission cheating scandal in America.
The company recently said it had reached agreements with authorities in 10 states to resolve environmental claims. The agreements also covers some claims by consumers that were not included in the earlier, broader class-action settlement reached in January. VW pleaded guilty to three criminal charges related to its use of illegal "defeat device" software in diesel cars to cheat on emissions tests.
The cheating was first announced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the US in September 2015 and started a scandal that is still not totally resolved. In the US alone, it has cost the group more than R280 billion with hundreds of claims and investigations still to be settled in Europe and elsewhere.
The latest settlements in the US were reached between the company's US arm and the attorneys general for Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
The VW Group of America will pay over R2 billion to be allocated among those 10 states, all of which have adopted California's stricter vehicle-emission standards under Section 177 of the Clean Air Act. The settlement was announced in early April and includes charges related to 450 000 TDI 4-cylinder 2.0-litre diesel cars, as well as an additional 85 000 vehicles from Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen fitted with 3,0-litre V-6 diesel engines.
Volkswagen's woes can not be solved by money alone, as its executive Oliver Schmidt remains in jail. He was arrested more than two months ago in Miami by the FBI at the end of a vacation. A Michigan judge denied bail as Schmidt is considered a risk since he would have no reason to visit the US after returning home to Germany.
Schmidt pleaded not guilty to charges of criminal behaviour in connection with the diesel-emission scandal.
There is still the possibility of financial settlements for potentially 11 million diesel vehicles sold globally with the "defeat device" software in them. Germany has no equivalent to US class-action lawsuits, meaning each owner must sue the company individually. However, earlier this year a German judge ruled that Volkswagen must refund the entire new-car purchase price to the buyer of one such TDI diesel car. The VW group is appealing that judgment.
Source: www.greencarreports.com
