Report: U.S. Volkswagen Owners Received $9.8 Billion From Diesel Settlements, According To An FTC Report

Most buyers opted to sell their cars back to VW

2013 volkswagen beetle tdi diesel badge
[Photos: Volkswagen]

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission issued a report Monday that shed more light on the years-old Volkswagen “Dieselgate” scandal. To date, the automaker paid more than $9.8 billion in settlements, according to a recent Reuters piece.

Of that figure, Volkswagen AG paid $9.5 billion. Diesel supplier Bosch also paid $300 million to American consumers.

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At the heart of the U.S. Dieselgate scandal were VW’s four and six-cylinder turbodiesel engines.

After news of its diesel defeat devices broke in 2015, Volkswagen agreed to buy back owners’ cars in the U.S. In all, it offered to buy back or repair more than 550,000 vehicles that contained the clandestine software. Under testing conditions, the program would kick in, lowering vehicle emissions to acceptable levels. However, under normal driving conditions, Volkswagen’s TDI engines would emit several times the legal limits for pollutants, particularly nitrogen oxides (NOx).

In its final report, the FTC says some 86 percent of consumers who filed claims opted for the buyback or early lease termination on their TDI cars. Only the remaining percentage went for the eventual repair to bring their cars into compliance in terms with VW’s settlement with U.S. authorities.