Volkswagen Group of America announced Tuesday that a United States District Court has approved its settlement regarding 2.0-liter diesels in the US. This news comes just over four months after the initial announcement of the $14.7 billion settlement proposal, and more than a year after the Dieselgate scandal first broke.
Judge Charles R. Breyer of the Northern District of California US District Court made the decision to approve the settlement. VW’s now-agreed proposal allocated $10.033 billion to compensate owners of 2.0-liter VW diesels for their rule-breaking cars. Owners of eligible cars will begin to receive compensation checks by mid-November, Jalopnik reports.
There is also an option for owners who wish to have their car fixed instead of being bought back by the German automaker. The problem is, right now there is no officially approved fix that VW can use on its cars, and a modification likely won’t come until late 2017 at the earliest. Owner will be compensated between $5,100 and $10,000 in cash following the settlement.
$2.7 billion from the $14.7 billion settlement will be spent on environmental research, and an addition $2 billion will go toward development of new zero emissions car tech. The automaker continues to work on a fix for its 3.0-liter V6 diesel engines and a remedy for owners of those vehicles.
“Final approval of the 2.0L TDI settlement is an important milestone in our journey to making things right in the United States, and we appreciate the efforts of all parties involved in this process. Volkswagen is committed to ensuring that the program is now carried out as seamlessly as possible for our affected customers and has devoted significant resources and personnel to making their experience a positive one,” said Hinrich J. Woebcken, President and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., in a press release.