A US judge has approved Volkswagen's $14.7bn deal that arose from the automaker's diesel emissions cheating scandal.
Judge Charles Breyer of the US District Court for the Northern District of California granted final approval to the settlement agreement between Volkswagen and private plaintiffs represented by a Court-appointed Plaintiffs' Steering Committee (PSC) to resolve civil claims regarding eligible Volkswagen and Audi 2.0L TDI vehicles.
With this approval, customers could sell back their Volkswagen 2- litre diesel cars including Jetta, Golf, Passat, Beetle and Audi A3 from 2009 or wait for the carmaker to install a government-approved fix for the issue.
Apart from this, the company could also pay additional cash between $5000 and $10,000 to each of its customers. This would amount to $10bn.
The German automaker shall also invest $4.7bn on programs which could offset emissions and other clean energy vehicle projects.
Owners of affected vehicles have time till September 2018 to make a final decision, whether to sell the vehicle back to the company or to wait for the fix.
Volkswagen last year confirmed that it outfitted cars with devices which tricked whenever an emission test was taken and showed that the emissions were under control. But, in reality the cars emitted higher-than-legal levels of pollutants. It was noted that the pollutants were 40 times above the legal pollution limits.
Volkswagen Group of America president and CEO Hinrich Woebcken said: "Final approval of the 2.0L TDI settlement is an important milestone in our journey to making things right in the United States, and we appreciate the efforts of all parties involved in this process.
“Volkswagen is committed to ensuring that the program is now carried out as seamlessly as possible for our affected customers and has devoted significant resources and personnel to making their experience a positive one.”
Until now, Volkswagen agreed to shell out up to $16.5bn related to the diesel scandal. The company shall have to pay auto dealers, US states and for attorneys of vehicle owners.
It could also have to spend more on additional costs of tackling faulty 3-litre engines. The company is facing lawsuits from 16 US states demanding additional compensation.
