Volkswagen Group will pay an additional USD86 million in penalties to California over its diesel-emissions violations, on top of a settlement of about USD15 billion that the automaker reached with U.S. officials last week. The scandal has disrupted Volkswagen’s global business and sullied its reputation.
The USD86 million in civil penalties resolved certain claims California officials made against Volkswagen under the state’s unfair competition law as well as under federal law. The latest settlement between officials for Volkswagen and California, the nation’s most populous state, provides for USD76 million to be paid to defray costs relating to investigation and litigation of the emissions scandal, according to court documents.
The other USD10 million will be dedicated to grants for government agencies and universities, to be used in part to study technology that can help detect so-called “defeat devices,” which on Volkswagen cars produced false results during diesel emissions tests.
Volkswagen has admitted it used sophisticated secret software to cheat exhaust emissions tests, deceiving regulators and customers about pollution from its diesel engines. Under that larger settlement involving the U.S. Department of Justice, the company will buy back or potentially fix about a half-million polluting diesel cars and set up environmental and consumer compensation funds.
