Dieselgate scandal ‘may hit other German brands’

The first $500 Visa debit card can be spent at the cardholder’s discretion, and the second $500 dealership credit will go to VW owners in possession of a vehicle affected by the emissions scandal. “Owners of the 2009-15 diesel Audi A3 are also eligible to receive the offer”, according to the list posted in the Volkswagen website. The Environmental Protection Agency included cars with this V6 engine among those that come with emissions-cheating software, but VW has denied editing emissions figures for cars powered by the V6 diesel.

The EPA and the California clean air watchdog first confronted the wayward automaker in September after gathering evidence of high in-use emissions from light-duty diesels.

Customers will also get access to a free 24-hour roadside assistance program for three years.

Volkswagen AG wants its workers to be open about any cheating at the carmaker, as long as they talk by the end of the month.

Owners may also avail of a temporary replacement auto while their unit is in for removal of the software.

“I can confirm that a letter from Canete was sent to the CEO of Volkswagenyesterday”, Commission spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen told a news briefing.

The fix of the 2-liter diesels in the US could wind up hurting performance or perhaps fuel mileage, the two main reasons why people buy the diesels. VW said that its Audi luxury brand would launch the same program on Friday.

Volkswagen announced this week it is offering owners of the 482,000 diesel cars affected by an emissions scandal $1,000 gift cards.

In the letter, Coffin asks VW attorney David Barry to clarify, on behalf of Volkswagen, that accepting the gift cards “will not be interpreted to have any effect whatsoever on any claims that Volkswagen diesel owners, purchasers or lessees” make in connection to the class-action lawsuit Coffin has filed.

Kalafer said he hasn’t heard yet from any customers about Volkswagen’s offer, but he expects they’ll want more from the company to address the many issues raised by the emissions scandal.

Volkswagen, based in Wolfsburg, Germany, on Monday started the hard task of convincing unions to accept cutbacks it says are necessary to survive the crisis.

VW’s investigations come second, regarding both the original emission defeat device along with the new discovery of “irregularities were found when determining type approval Carbon dioxide levels”.