Volkswagen to pay USD 3.5 Million to settle Illinois diesel lawsuit

The U.S. unit of Volkswagen AG (VW) is reportedly paying USD 3.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the state of Illinois against the automaker, regarding updates on emissions software emerging from the 2015 cheating scandal. The Illinois settlement is worth around USD 300 for every one of around 12,000 vehicles.

Previously, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected VW’s bid to prevent lawsuits filed by officials seeking damages in other states. Earlier, the German automaker had warned of potential monumental damages in the local and state suits.

Kwame Raoul, the Illinois Attorney General cited that the automaker intentionally meddled with vehicles that were claimed to be environment friendly but were releasing harmful emissions instead.

Volkswagen clarified that the settlement will fully resolve the legacy claims of Illinois and put an end to this matter as it focuses on building a future based on sustainable mobility.

In September, the automaker agreed to pay USD 1.5 million to resolve environmental claims with the states of Montana and New Hampshire. On the other hand, two counties- Salt Lake County, Utah, and Hillsborough County, Florida along with two states-Texas and Ohio-have unresolved suits involving around 35,000 vehicles.

According to an appeals court, VW resolved U.S. actions elicited by the emission scandal for over USD 20 billion, but that did not protect it from state and local government liability.

In 2015, VW revealed that it used state-of-the-art software to curb requirements of nitrogen oxide emissions in almost 11 million vehicles around the world. The automaker also misled the Environmental Protection Agency, which raised questions about the software in 2014.

Apart from selling vehicles equipped with defeat devices, VW also installed software updates after the sale and this conduct was raised in the Illinois suit.

Volkswagen did not clarify the actual purpose of the updates, which intended to refine the software used for controlling the emissions.

Source credit:

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/vw-pay-35-million-resolve-illinois-diesel-lawsuit-2021-12-09/