Volkswagen will pay, and pay big, to owners of it’s polluting diesel cars.
Closed-door discussions in U.S. District Court in San Francisco reportedly have settled on payments to owners of up to $7,000 and to a grant program to offset pollution, stemming from VW’s admitted rigging of emissions tests. Regulators are trying to make up for nearly 500,000 diesel cars that emit up to 40 times the allowable amounts of nitrogen oxide, which helps produce smog. VW may also have to buy back some of the cars.
The tentative agreement will be released next week. Car owners may have to figure out for themselves how much cash they might get from VW.
The cost of the settlement will reportedly exceed $10 billion. The deal is expected to include penalties for breaking U.S. clean-air laws, money to buy back vehicles, to compensate consumers and to settle class-action claims. The company also faces a Federal Trade Commission action for false advertising.
