For months, Volkswagen has been in serious damage control mode following revelations that the company had cheated on emissions tests for some of its cars. Top level changes have been made at the company which has since apologized for the entire episode but the story doesn’t end there. It has to dole out some compensation as well to customers who purchased cars thinking they didn’t impact the environment above and beyond what was allowed by regulators. According to a report, Volkswagen and regulatory authorities have reached an agreement to offer “substantial compensation” to affected owners.
According to the report, Volkswagen has reached an agreement with regulatory authorities, the U.S. Department of Justice and attorneys to compensate the owners of vehicles that it cheated on emissions tests for.
AP reports that under the agreement, customers will be provided the option to get a fix for their car or sell it back to the company. There are said to be 600,000 affected cars in the United States alone so the process is naturally going to take some time.
Volkswagen will also be made to fund programs that reverse the damage excessive pollution by its cars have caused, as well as programs that promote environmental initiatives.
As far as the settlement amount for affected customers is concerned, there’s a $5,000 figure floating around, but it hasn’t been confirmed so take it with a grain of salt. We’ll find out for sure this June when the entire details of this deal are made public.
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