San Francisco, California - The judge hearing the case against Volkswagen over its emissions scandal has increased pressure on the company to come up with a solution to cover tens of thousands of three-litre V6 TDIs equipped with the cheating software.
US District Judge Charles Breyer said the clock was ticking in the case involving the 85 000 Volkswagen diesel cars sold in the United States with three-litre engines. During a hearing in his San Francisco courtroom, he made clear the cars didn't meet US specifications and were therefore illegally operating on US streets.
He set 3 November as the date for another hearing and demanded the parties work on possibilities for a settlement as they continue developing a recall plan. If there was no progress, the judge said opening a case against VW over the three-litre engine cars would have to be considered.
VW attorney Robert Giuffra said the company still believed it could repair the cars. The case was more difficult than the one involving the smaller two-litre engines, he said, but the company was working hard with US authorities to find a solution.
A representative of the US Justice Department said the matter was very complex, which made setting a binding timetable all the more difficult.
Volkswagen also announced in court on Thursday that it had reached an agreement with its dealerships for their losses from the emissions cheating scheme. Volkswagen has agreed to make cash payments and provide additional benefits to the dealers to resolve their claims.
The dollar value of the agreement wasn't disclosed. The dealers said the scandal resulted in lost business and damaged reputation.
Steve Berman, an attorney for the dealers, said: “These 652 mostly small business owners were blindsided by the diesel emissions scandal and have seen the value of their businesses plummet
“Our investigation has uncovered no evidence that VW dealers had any idea that VW was selling them cars that had defeat devices installed.”
Multibillion-dollar settlement
Volkswagen and the dealers' attorneys still have to work out final details of the proposed settlement. They are expected to be finished at the end of September. A final deal requires the approval of the court.
The dealers sued Volkswagen, alleging fraud and false advertising. Because the company has suspended sales of its diesel models in the United States, the dealers have inventory they can't sell.
Breyer gave preliminary approval in July to the carmaker's multibillion-dollar settlement covering 480 000 Volkswagens with two-litre engines.
Under the $14.7-billion (R206 billion) deal the German carmaker would spend up to $10 billion (R140 billion) buying back or repairing the two-litre diesel cars from Volkswagen and Audi equipped with software that manipulated vehicle emissions during official testing.
Volkswagen has also agreed to compensate owners of those cars between $5100 (R72 000) and $10,000 (R140 000) each. In addition, the carmaker will spend $2.7 billion (R40 billion) to support environmental projects, with an additional $2 billion (R28 billion) earmarked for investment in infrastructure, access and awareness initiatives to promote the use of zero emission vehicles.
DPA
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