VW Group settles lawsuit surrounding alleged fuel economy overstatement

Owners of certain Volkswagen Group models are in for a payday, if a modest one. VW Group of America said on Friday it’s reached a settlement with plaintiffs over a lawsuit that alleged VW knowingly overstated fuel economy in a selection of vehicles.

The settlement is worth $96.5 million and does not include an admission of guilt from Volkswagen. The automaker will also adjust fuel economy figures for 98,000 vehicles sold between 2013 and 2017 by 1 mile per gallon to reflect US labeling requirements.

Owners and lessees will be paid from the settlement fund to reimburse them for extra money spent on fuel based on the allegedly false fuel economy ratings. Payments will depend on length of ownership with a sum of $5.40 to $24.30 heading to owners for each month they owned or leased the vehicle. The figures are all still subject to court approval, however.

Further, VW said it will adjust its Greenhouse Gas Credits with the EPA to remove any additional credits it gained from the fuel economy discrepancy. Eventually, owners will need to submit a claim, but the process to do so isn’t ready just yet.

The EPA began investigating the gasoline-powered vehicles following VW’s 2015 diesel scandal. Testing by the California Air Resources Board and EPA found transmission software that caused the models to shift differently during government testing to post better fuel economy than in the real world. According to the EPA, the software was present on 1 million vehicles, but only the 98,000 cars were discovered with lower fuel economy.

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