VW to offer gift cards, vouchers to diesel owners

The site, The Truth About Cars, is alleged to announce that Volkswagen would be offering cash rewards of up to $500 to customers and a total of up to $1,250 to a few category of customers who have bought vehicles that were said to have illegal software which cheats on emission tests.

German vehicle maker Volkswagen took a huge hit when it was revealed that it installed “defeat devices” on its TDI diesel engines to cheat their way through emissions tests.

The news of the sales initiative was reportedly confirmed by a Volkswagen spokesman, who did not provide any other details, but said that USA dealers were informed about new plans last week and the company’s US unit would “publish the details about this in the coming week”.

The offer is created to keep diesel owners happy as VW works on repairs to the cars, which are programmed to turn on pollution controls during government tests and turn them off while on the road. The proposed European rules have also been criticized for not going far enough, allowing cars to put out more than double the amount of nitrogen oxides during road tests as lab tests, and not testing for emissions during engine-taxing cold starts.

Volkswagen has not announced how the fix would be carried out. In the United States of America, you’d get both a $500 universal card as well as a VW-only card worth $500 to $750.

NEW YORK -Concerned that cheating on vehicle emissions could be prevalent across the automobile industry, USA and Canadian regulators are expanding their on-the-road emissions tests to cover all diesel cars.

The additional software under investigation affects the same cars for the 2016 model year.

The EPA’s new testing standards will now include real-world conditions besides the traditional laboratory setting, in order to increase the possibility of catching any significant discrepancies in emissions results compared to those claimed by auto manufacturers. “In the meantime, we are providing this goodwill package as a first step towards regaining our customers’ trust”.

Volkswagen has been mired in controversy since acknowledging that software sold in Golf, Jetta, Beetle and Passat models had been programmed to cheat on emissions tests.

Volkswagen is encouraging its rank and file staff to cooperate with its internal investigation by promising not to fire or sue them for any misconduct although high-level managers would still be held to account, a person familiar with the matter said.