Volkswagen Canada has reached a deal to compensate the roughly 105,000 Canadian vehicle owners affected by the emissions scandal.
The deal allows owners of 2.0-litre Volkswagen and Audi TDI diesel vehicles to sell the autos back to VW, trade them in, or have them repaired. The owners will be compensated between $5,100 and $8,000, depending on the make and model of their vehicle, according to reports. The costs to the automaker could top $2 billion.
Some details of the class-action lawsuit settlement were revealed in an Ontario court on Monday. The settlement program, part of which is detailed on the Competition Bureau website, still needs to be approved by the courts.
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The auto giant has acknowledged using special software to cheat on diesel emissions tests, but has blamed a small group of employees for the decision.
The Canadian suit had alleged owners suffered from a decline in the resale value of their VW-made vehicles since the scandal came to light in September 2015.
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The Competition Bureau said Volkswagen misled Canadian consumers, and applauded the deal Monday.
“We are pleased that Canadians will now begin to receive compensation and that Volkswagen Canada and Audi Canada will address the impact this matter has had on the marketplace,” commissioner John Pecman said in a release.
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The bureau said the deal would be one of the largest consumer settlements in Canadian history. However, the current agreement does not resolve the bureau’s ongoing investigation with respect to vehicles equipped with certain 3.0 litre diesel engines, it said.
The emissions issue affects Volkswagen 2.0 litre TDI vehicles manufactured between 2009 and 2015 and 3.0 litre V6 TDI vehicles manufactured between 2009 and 2016.
The automaker has a website to provide updates on the emissions scandal for Canadians. Owners can check their VIN on the website to see if their car was affected.
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The emissions scandal rocked the automaker; various settlements over the emission scandal have cost the company billions of dollars. VW announced last month it was set to shed 30,000 jobs in order to recover financially from the scandal.
Global News has reached out to Volkswagen Canada for comment, but did not hear back by the time of publication.
With a file from the Associated Press and the Canadian Press.
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