The German carmaker Volkswagen has agreed to pay up to $15.3bn to buy back vehicles affected by the ‘dieselgate’ emissions scandal and provide funding for green initiatives.
Cars will be bought back at ‘pre-scandal prices’ according to the Department of Justice, an estimated $21,000 per vehicle for 500,000 affected American customers.
Vehicles involved include the 2.0-litre diesel Jetta, Beetle, Golf, Passat and Audi A3 sold between 2009-2015.
A $2.7bn settlement will also be paid to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), while $2bn will be invested over a decade in support of zero-emissions vehicles. This will include the development of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure and zero-emission car-sharing schemes.
Despite these woes, Volkswagen sales around the world are relatively buoyant, with 871,500 vehicles delivered in May, an increase of 1.6 per cent over. This brings total sales for 2016 to 4.2 million, 0.8 per cent up on the same period in 2015, which was unaffected by ‘dieselgate’.
Volkswagen has also commited to launching a product offensive of eco-friendly products, with 30 all-electric cars key to rebranding itself as a leader in zero-emission vehicles.
In the UK, Volkswagen is contacting owners of all vehicles affected by the emissions scandal. While the manufacturer is clear that affected cars are safe to continue driving, recalls are expected to implement technical fixes. These started early this year for most 2.0-litre TDI models, while owners of 1.2-litre and 1.6-litre TDI should anticipate fixes later in 2016. All alterations are free of charge, with Volkswagen aiming for minimum inconvenience to customers.
