Volkswagen agrees to pay at least $1.2bn to US vehicle owners of big diesels
Volkswagen has agreed to pay at least $1.2bn (£950m) in buybacks and compensation to owners of larger diesel engines affected by the firm's emissions scandal in the US.
According to court documents filed late on Tuesday, VW has agreed to pay the total to fix or buy back nearly 80,000 polluting 3.0 litre diesel-engine vehicles, to settle claims it had fitted illegal emissions-cheating software to the cars. The settlement needs to be approved by a US judge.
Read more: VW owners are taking their emissions scandal claims to the High Court
In a statement, Hinrich J. Woebcken, President and chief executive of Volkswagen Group of America, said: "We will continue to work to earn back the trust of all our stakeholders and thank our customers and dealers for their continued patience as this process moves forward."
German supplier Robert Bosch has also agreed to pay $327.5m to US diesel VW owners. Owners had sued Bosch in 2015, saying the firm helped design "defeat device" software which enabled VW to evade emissions rules.
VW has faced a raft of lawsuits in relation to its scandal that unfolded in September 2015, after it admitted to building "defeat devices" to circumvent emissions tests in around 11m cars worldwide.
It set aside more than £15bn to cover the cost of vehicle refits on smaller 2.0 litre diesel engines, and a settlement with the US authorities. The company ultimately secured a £3.5bn draft settlement with US regulators.
This development would mark a significant step to moving on from the trouble, though there are some remaining lawsuits from both US states and investors.
Read more: VW has given its classic camper van a futuristic, self-driving revamp
VW also had positive news to report elsewhere this week, after it overtook Toyota as the biggest car maker in the world, after its reputation (and share price) took a hit following the emissions scandal in 2015.
Toyota made 10.175m cars last year, compared to Volkswagen's 10.31m; the first time Toyota has trailed its German rival in four years.
Toyota said exports to North America, the Middle East and Africa had dropped. VW, which makes the Audi, Porsche and Skoda brands, was boosted by solid sales in China.