Volkswagen said that Judge Charles R. Breyer of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California has granted preliminary approval of the settlement.
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The agreement was reached on June 28 with private plaintiffs represented by the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee (PSC) to resolve civil claims regarding eligible Volkswagen and Audi 2.0L TDI vehicles in the United States.
Individual class members will now receive notification of their rights and options under the agreement. Volkswagen will begin the settlement program immediately after the Court grants final approval to the class settlement, which is anticipated on October 18, 2016.
Under the proposed settlement, eligible customers will have two choices: they can sell back their vehicle to Volkswagen or terminate their lease without an early termination penalty, or keep their vehicle and receive a free emissions modification, if approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
Customers who select any of these options under the settlement will also receive a cash payment from Volkswagen.
The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand delivered 2.93 million vehicles to customers worldwide in the first six months of 2016, almost matching the prior-year level (2.95 million vehicles). At 492,800 units, deliveries in June were up on the comparable month last year.
Jürgen Stackmann, Volkswagen Brand Board Member for Sales, commented: “The Volkswagen brand recorded an increase of 4.7 percent in June despite challenging conditions on key markets. In particular the stable performance in Europe and a strong result in China contributed to this positive achievement. The outstanding response to the new Tiguan provides further momentum for the second half of the year.â€
Developments in the various regions of the world in June 2016 were mixed.
163,600 vehicles were handed over to customers on the overall European market, slightly up on the previous year (+0.1 percent). At 143,800 units, deliveries in Western Europe in June almost matched the prior-year level (-0.1 percent). A total of 55,600 customers took delivery of a Volkswagen on the home market of Germany (-1.1 percent).
Developments in Central and Eastern Europe remained positive. 19,800 units were delivered there in June, an increase of 8.8 percent compared with the prior year. The Russian market was again down on the prior year, with deliveries falling by 8.1 percent.
275,300 vehicles were handed over to customers in the North America region during the first half year, a decrease of 5.6 percent over the comparable prior-year period. 149,000 cars were delivered to customers in the USA during the first six months (-14.6 percent).
The Mexican market continued to develop very well. Deliveries there rose by 24.6 percent in June to 16,600 units. Volkswagen continues to encounter a challenging market situation in South America. At 179,400 units, deliveries in the first half year were noticeably lower than the prior-year level.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Volkswagen enjoyed particularly strong growth in June driven by the Chinese market, where deliveries ran at 236,700 units, representing a strong 19.2 percent increase compared with the prior year.
The Volkswagen brand delivered 1.39 million vehicles in China in the first half of 2016, a new all-time sales record on this, the most important individual market. ■