May 25, 2022
Volkswagen to pay out £193m in UK 'dieselgate' settlement
Volkswagen is to pay a total of £193m to more than 90,000 UK drivers after it settled a High Court claim over the installation of emissions cheating devices in its vehicles. The use of "Defeat devices" meant that Volkswagen's cars were certified as conforming to EU pollution standards when, in reality, they were emitting up to 40 times the legally permitted amount of nitrogen dioxide. The claim, which lawyers said would have been the biggest ever brought by a group of consumers in the UK, was due to go to trial in January 2023.Volkswagen said it had made no admission of liability but that the legal costs of a six-month trial in England meant a settlement "Was the most prudent course of action commercially". In a statement the company said: "The Volkswagen Group would, once again, like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologise to their customers for the two mode software installed in the EA189 vehicles. The Volkswagen Group will continue to work to rebuild the trust of their customers here in England and Wales." Philip Haarmann, chief legal officer of Volkswagen AG, said the settlement was "Another important milestone as the Volkswagen Group continues to move beyond the deeply regrettable events leading up to September 2015".David Whitmore, chief executive of Slater and Gordon, which represented around 70,000 of the claimants, said: "The settlement avoids the need for a lengthy, complex and expensive trial process and we are delighted to have achieved this settlement for our customers as a result of the group action."
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