Volkswagen on Wednesday announced it reached proposed agreements to resolve outstanding civil claims in the United States from owners of approximately 78,000 vehicles fitted with 3.0-liter diesel engines found to be equipped with the “defeat device” software at the heart of the automaker’s diesel scandal. The agreements still need to be approved by a court, which is expected to take place in May.
The affected vehicles include the Porsche Cayenne Diesel, Volkswagen Touareg and numerous Audis.
For affected models from the 2013-2016 model years, of which there approximately 58,000 in the country, VW will implement a repair that will bring them into compliance with the emissions standards to which they were originally certified. This will be done if an appropriate emissions compliant repair is approved by regulators.
For affected models from the 2009-2012 model years, of which there are approximately 20,000, VW will either buy back, offer trade-in credit of equal value, or terminate the leases for them. However, if approved by regulators, VW may simply modify the vehicles to substantially reduce their emissions so as to allow owners and lessees to keep them.
VW has also agreed to provide cash payments to all eligible members of the class. The total projected costs are estimated at $1.2 billion.
2015 Audi Q7 TDI
The latest announcement comes after VW in January pleaded guilty to three felony counts and agreed to pay penalties totaling $4.3 billion in regards to the scandal. In addition, the automaker in December 2016 announced it reached a $1 billion settlement with regulators to resolve claims related to its vehicles fitted with the 3.0-liter engines, and in June 2016 it announced it reached an $18 billion settlement for its vehicles with 2.0-liter engines.
“With the court-approved 2.0-liter TDI program well under way and now this proposed 3.0-liter TDI program, all of our customers with affected vehicles in the United States will have a resolution available to them,” Volkswagen Group of America CEO Hinrich J. Woebcken said in a statement. “We will continue to work to earn back the trust of all our stakeholders and thank our customers and dealers for their continued patience as this process moves forward.”
In related news, automotive supplier Bosch on Wednesday announced it has agreed to pay $327.5 million to settle a civil claim that it helped devise the defeat device software. Under the agreement, owners of vehicles with the 2.0-liter engines in the U.S. will receive $350, while those owners of vehicles with the 3.0-liter engines will receive $1,500.
Below is a list of vehicles fitted with the 3.0-liter engine:
2009-2016 Volkswagen Touareg TDI
2013-2016 Porsche Cayenne Diesel
2014-2016 Audi A6 TDI
2014-2016 Audi A7 TDI
2014-2016 Audi A8 TDI
2014-2016 Audi Q5 TDI
2009-2015 Audi Q7 TDI
