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Cars and Transportation

VW reaches Canada settlement worth millions

January 13, 2018

The German automaker has agreed to a major payout to consumers affected by emissions-rigging software on diesel vehicles. A lawyer representing consumers hailed the deal as a "great outcome for Canadian consumers."

https://p.dw.com/p/2qn16
A worn VW logo
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Spata

German automaker Volkswagen (VW) and a group of lawyers representing Canadian three-liter diesel engine owners and lessees announced a proposed settlement on Friday worth 290.5 million Canadian dollars (€191 million, $233.1 million).

Under the settlement, VW Group Canada will make cash payments to owners and lessees of three-liter VW, Audi and Porsche diesel vehicles that carried software that deliberately cheated emissions tests.

Daniel Weissland, president and CEO of VW Group Canada, thanked VW's customers for "their continued patience as a settlement for their vehicles moves toward approval."

Read more: VW says new diesel engines are clean

"This is an important milestone towards making things right for all of our customers with affected diesel vehicles in Canada," said Weissland.

'Great outcome'

Sylvie De Bellefeuille, one of the lawyers representing the consumers, said the proposed settlement marked a major victory for Canadian consumers.

"This settlement is a great outcome for Canadian consumers and we hope it sends a strong message towards the industry," she said.

Read more: Can clean synthetic diesel fuels succeed?

As part of the settlement, Canada's civil consumer protection body agreed that alongside the class action payout, VW will pay 2.5 million Canadian dollars in a civil penalty. More than 20,000 vehicles are covered under the deal.

In September 2015, VW was rocked by revelations that several of its diesel models had been equipped with software that purposefully cheated emissions tests. The automaker has admitted that more than 11 million vehicles across the globe included the illegal software.

ls/cmk (Reuters, dpa)