Volkswagen (VW) has agreed to pay £193m to settle 91,000 Diesel Emissions claims for their part in the Dieselgate Scandal. This settlement relates to claimants represented by certain law firms. Other law firms, in a separate diesel emissions class action on similar grounds, might be holding out for a better offer.

Volkswagen Settle

The settlement gives individuals an average payment of over £2,100 per claim. Volkswagen still denied any wrongdoing. In a press release, they said the settlement was a “prudent course of action commercially” to avoid the mounting legal cost of a six-month trial and possible appeals. VW says that as the scandal emerged in 2015, too much time has passed for other owners to bring claims. This excludes those in the claims with other law firms in the early stages of litigation.

In a statement, VW said: “The Volkswagen Group would, once again, like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologise to their customers for the two-mode software installed in the EA189 vehicles. The Volkswagen Group will continue to work to rebuild the trust of their customers here in England and Wales.”

It was scheduled to go to trial in January 2023. However, after 5 years, this settlement reduces the uncertainty for both claimants and VW.

Mercedes Claims

Law firms are now litigating against Mercedes. Diesel emissions claims against BMW, Vauxhall, Ford, Renault and Seat may also start soon. Whether others will follow after that is still unknown.

Past owners can claim if they experienced some kind of financial loss. This may include:

• If they paid more for the vehicle than you otherwise would have
• They wouldn’t have bought it at all had they known about the alleged emissions flaws
• They sold it on but got less for it than you would have had it not been affected.

Some law firms will ask claimants to confirm that one of the above applies to them.