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Judge OK's 3-litre VW settlement

Posted on 16 May, 2017

A federal judge has granted final approval on an agreement for embattled car maker Volkswagen to fix and buy back over 80,000 3.0-litre diesels in the United States, at an estimated cost of over $1.7 billion. Owners of affected vehicles will be compensated between $10,000 and $23,000 if they chose to opt for fixes. Volkswagen could be forced to pay up to $5.8 billion if the fixes for 3.0-litre diesels are not approved by American regulators The ruling is one of the final acts in the long-running emissions scandal, which began in October 2015 when it was revealed Volkswagen had fitted diesel vehicles with so-called ‘defeat devices’ to cheat emissions tests. A separate settlement to fix or buy back 475,000 polluting 2.0-litre diesel vehicles was approved last spring. Volkswagen spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan told Reuters the settlement "marks an important milestone for Volkswagen and means that a resolution is available to all of our customers.” In total, Volkswagen has agreed to spend $36.33 billion on various settlements. Last month, the car maker was sentenced to three years probation after pleading guilty to criminal charges, and agreed to broad reforms and independent oversight.