Skip to main content

VW and US Authorities Come to $4.3 Billion Dieselgate Agreement

Volkswagen announced today that it has agreed to settlements totaling $4.3 billion to resolve criminal, environmental, and civil claims against them in the United States. That brings the total spent so far on the TDI scandal in the US and Canada to $23 billion, well past the $19 billion it set aside at the beginning of the year.

Nonetheless, VW worked hard to get this deal ready before current administration left office with the swearing in of President-elect Trump on January 20.

In all, there are four settlements being agreed to here, including a plea agreement with the US Department of Justice. Along with the agreement, VW has agreed to plead guilty to three felony counts and a criminal fine of $2.8 billion. An independent monitor will also be appointed to VW, who will oversee the company for three years to ensure that the company is abiding by its enhanced ethics program.

Two more settlements, one to resolve environmental and customs-related claims, and the other to the Civil Division of the Department of Justice totaling $1.5 billion have also been agreed to, but VW is not pleading guilty to these claims. The automaker is instead settling to “avoid the uncertainty and expense of protracted litigation.”

“Volkswagen deeply regrets the behavior that gave rise to the diesel crisis,” says Matthias Muller, Volkswagen Group CEO. “The agreements that we have reached with the U.S. government reflect our determination to address misconduct that went against all of the values Volkswagen holds so dear. They are an important step forward for our company and all our employees.”

Although the agreements put VW over budget, as it were, the ultimate result could still be good.

“Although the settlement is higher than reports had indicated, we view the resolution as a positive catalyst for Volkswagen since it removes the final known major liability” analysts at Goldman Sachs, said in a report to clients, according to Automotive News.

Along with these agreements, though, came charges against five VW executives: Heinz-Jakob Neusser, Jens Hadler, Richard Dorenkamp, Bernd Gottweis, and Juergen Peter. Oliver Schmidt, meanwhile, was arrested in Florida last weekend.

Despite that, Muller indicated in a statement today that the company is ready to move forward.

“We have taken significant steps to strengthen accountability, enhance transparency and prevent something like this from happening again,” he said. “We are determined that Volkswagen will become an example of how a socially responsible company should act and lead in the years ahead – and we know that our success can never be divorced from the way we conduct ourselves.”

The post VW and US Authorities Come to $4.3 Billion Dieselgate Agreement appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2iHjM1s
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Project SportWagen: Going Stage 2 with APR

    When we last left you, the humble little SportWagen was fresh from the development process with our friends at AWE Tuning, sporting a new downpipe, exhaust and intake, allowing things to breathe a bit easier.  The car sounded great, but there was no getting around the fact that our wagon was still quite, well, slow.   While we realize that nothing we do to the Golf SportWagen at this point will make it a race car, we still felt compelled to do something .  To put it bluntly, we had a fever, and the only cure was more power. Flash forward a few hours, and we found ourselves at Waterfest, staring down APR’s palatial spread and the numerous tuned vehicles surrounding it.  Earlier in the year, APR had hinted to us that their 1.8 TSI files would be quite impressive, and based on what they were able to do with the 2.0 TSI found in the new GTI and our time in their Golf R, we knew it’d be worth the wait.  So with this in mind, we lined our G...
Post a Comment
Read more

Watch: The Zerouno Cruis’n USA

ItalDesign is drumming up excitement for its new supercar based around the same 5.2-liter Audi V10 that powers the R8. Naturally, it hit the road for a cruise around California last week to celebrate Monterey Car Week. There isn’t much in the way of V10 noise—which is a real shame given the sound it makes—but you do at least get a good look at the car inside and out in this video. With a body made entirely of carbon fiber and designed to be as aerodynamic and light as possible, ItalDesign figures that it will be good for a 0-60 time of just 3.2 seconds. “We put it our best skills into the production of the first car,” said Massimo Bovi, head of pre-series production, when the Zerouno was first unveiled in Geneva earlier this year. “Using some of the finest productions methods and engaging our high-skilled workers.” The car features clever aero tricks gleaned from single-seat racing, like a y-duct up front to improve downforce and turn-in. Available in a number of trim levels, the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Volkswagen Golf GTE Wins Top Honor at the 2015 Business Techies Awards

Golf GTE wins Green category in the 2015 BusinessCar Fleet Technology awards Judges praised the Golf GTE for its performance, ease of use and economy Golf GTE launched earlier this year with plug-in hybrid technology – priced from £33,755 204 PS performance combined with CO 2  emissions of just 39 g/km Volkswagen has added to its growing list of 2015 automotive industry accolades by winning the Green category in the annual BusinessCar Fleet Technology Awards – the Techies. The prestigious title was awarded to Volkswagen for the Golf GTE, an innovative plug-in hybrid that combines sporty dynamics with exceptional fuel economy and low CO 2  emissions. Now in their seventh year, the Techies are judged by both BusinessCar’s experienced editorial panel with help from TRL’s technology expert. The industry’s only technology-specific awards, the BusinessCar Techies reward the use of technology to make business car fleet operations easier, cheaper, cleaner, safer and more straig...
Post a Comment
Read more