Volkswagen coughs up £193m in UK ‘Dieselgate’ settlement
Volkswagen has agreed to pay £193m as part of an out-of-court UK settlement after 91,000 UK motorists filed a class action over the “Dieselgate” scandal.
Tony Winterburn, head of consumer protection litigation at PGMBM, commented on the news and said: “This is a good day for the claimants and is the culmination of five years of hard-fought litigation.”
The scandal initially broke out in 2015, when Volkswagen Group admitted illegal software to rig diesel engine tests in the US, lowering the amount of NOx emissions the vehicles emitted.
The automotive maker admitted that 11 million cars worldwide had the software installed, with 1.2 million in the UK.
Commenting on the news, Volkswagen’s chief legal officer Philip Haarman said: “The Volkswagen Group is pleased that we have been able to conclude this long running litigation in England & Wales.
“The settlement is another important milestone as the Volkswagen Group continues to move beyond the deeply regrettable events leading up to September 2015.”
The settlement’s term and conditions remained undisclosed.