U.S. District Judge Breyer, has approved both VW and Bosch diesel settlements

Another $1 billion has been added to VW’s ever-growing bill in the U.S.

More movements have been made across the pond – District Judge Charles Breyer has approved Volkswagen’s (VW) settlement sum of $1.22 billion to either fix or buy back 80,000-87,000 diesel vehicles affected by the emissions scandal in the U.S.

This is a separate settlement to the deal made last autumn, and was made for owners of the six-cylinder 3.0 diesel engines.

Around 63,000 vehicles will be fixed with owners set to receive compensation for the trouble VW have caused, and the laws they have broken. The other 20,000 vehicles are to be bought back by VW at full retail value prior to the scandal. These vehicle owners are also set to be provided with an extra pay out of between $7,755 and $13,880. If VW doesn’t find an effective fix to repair the 63,000 vehicles to a state approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, VW may also have to buy back these cars too.

Breyer has also approved Bosch’s settlement sum of $327.5 million to affected owners for their part in designing and developing the software for the so-called “defeat devices” that masked the vehicles emissions results. $350 payments will go to owners of the 2.0 litre diesel vehicles and owners of the 3.0 litre vehicles are set to receive up to $1,500 from Bosch.

A large bill in total

These new settlements come after the same Judge ordered VW to pay out $14.7 billion last autumn. The car giants are currently in the process of buying back nearly 475,000 of the affected vehicles with 2.0 litre engines. The settlement also agreed that, not only would they have to fix and buy back the vehicles, but they also have to pay generous amounts of compensation to customers as “retribution” for their actions.

One news report [Bloomberg news] revealed that “VW is committed to spending upwards of $24.5 billion in North America to settle the lawsuits and buy back or repair some 560,000 vehicles.” It is peculiar that Breyer has on one hand approved Bosch’s settlement sum as one that is “fair, reasonable and adequate”, but on the other hand Bosch has still not admitted any wrongdoing.

Looking at it simply, one would be perplexed as to why they would have to pay the settlement if they hadn’t done anything wrong. This tactic is used by many wrongdoing companies as they may be legally obliged to take action or suffer worse fines, yet at the same time, by not admitting liability in public, it remains as a hurdle for any potential lawsuits.

What about the U.K.?

Ms Elizabeth Cabraser, a lead lawyer in the case against VW in the U.S., made a statement praising the settlements:

“These agreements accomplish our goal of making the consumers harmed by Volkswagen’s emissions deception whole, while repairing or removing illegally polluting vehicles from our roads. We believe the substantial compensation and steps to repair or remove polluting cars from the roads detailed in the settlements provide excellent value to consumers and hold Volkswagen and Bosch accountable for their breach of consumer trust.”

It seems like VW has forgotten about the 1.2 million owners in the U.K. affected by the very same scandal. Whether VW has forgotten or has arrogantly turned their backs on consumers here, it is simply outrageous that our counterparts across the pond are reaching settlement after settlement, yet we are still left in the dark. VW is yet to admit liability here and take any responsibility in the U.K.

At the moment, it is up to the claimants to get up and join the Group Action against VW. Speak to us now to see if you are eligible to join our Group Action.

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