Volkswagen Diesel Scandal: US Court approves VW's buyback proposal

Volkswagen Group's proposal to buyback over 475,000 vehicles affected by the the diesel emissions scandal has been approved by a US court.

After months of pleading and courtroom battles, Volkswagen’s $14.7 billion diesel-gate compensation deal has been finally given a go ahead by a US court. What this means is that the affected cars sold from Volkswagen, and its subsidiaries, will be bought back by the VW group in the US. Additionally, customers can also wait for a fix for their cars, but they will receive compensations regardless.

Under the proposed fix, customers affected by Volkswagen’s infamous diesel emissions scandal will be able to sell their cars back to dealerships for pre-scandal prices. Customers who do not wish to do that will have the alternate choice to wait for a government-approved fix for their vehicles by Volkswagen. Affected buyers can decide between the two choices till September 2018. In any case, owners will receive a sum ranging between $5,100 and $10,000 as an apology.

Over 475,000 vehicles fitted with the infamous EA 189 2.0-litre diesel engine including Volkswagen Beetle, Passat and Audi A3 models sold in the US since 2009 will fall under the settlement. The court has also asked Volkswagen to either repair or fix at least 85 per cent of the affected vehicles by June 2019, or else, the company will be further penalized. The settlement also includes Volkswagen to pay $2.7 billion to an environmental trust in the US over the next 10 years, and another $2 billion to develop zero-emission vehicles.

That is, however, not the end of the story. Volkswagen still needs to come out with a fix for around 85,000 more vehicles that are powered with the bigger 3.0-litre diesel engine, also fitted with the emissions rigging device. Volkswagen will be updating the court on this during the first week of November 2016.

Also read: Volkswagen mulls discontinuing diesel vehicles in US permanently