Details of VW make-good revealed

Details of the proposed make-good by car manufacturer Volkswagen AG have been released. Information relates only to the United States at this stage.

The automaker has agreed to a deal announced by the Justice Department, Federal Trade Commission, Environmental Protection Agency and California state regulators. Under the arrangements, VW will set aside US$10.033 billion to cover buybacks or fixes for diesel cars and sports utility vehicles that used illegal software to defeat emissions tests.

The company admitted to installing the software that enabled vehicles to emit up to 40 times the (US) legally allowable pollution levels, and it’s not out out of the woods just yet, as it may still be subject to criminal charges.

Apparently VW’s share price rose 5% in the wake of the announcement. In addition to the buy-back and repair funds, the company has agreed to provide US$2 billion over 10 years to fund programs that could benefit makers of cleaner technologies, including electric vehicle charging infrastructure and the development of zero-emission ride-sharing fleets.

A further $2.7 billion will go towards assisting government departments with the replacement of old buses and other diesel emission reduction infrastructure developments. A separate settlement with 44 US states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico involves an additional US$600 million outlay, bringing the total cost to the company in at US$15.3 billion.

Apparently, VW has set aside 16.2 billion euros, or US$18 billion, to cover the costs.

Details for recompense in regions outside the United States have not been released.