Volkswagen Giving Away $1000 Gift Cards to U.S. Diesel Owners

Last month, Porsche cut its full-year guidance as a result of the diesel emissions scandal which has affected around 11 million VW group vehicles.

In an effort to make amends for its so called “diesel scandal”, Volkswagen is sending out $1,000 worth of prepaid cards to diesel vehicle owners. The vehicle owners also receive a $500 dealership card that can be used at any participating dealership for service or buying the automaker-branded merchandise, reported CNET. Owners and lessees, also, have no later than April 30, 2016 to register for the goodwill package. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the cars emit 10 to 40 times the allowable amount of harmful nitrogen oxide while being driven. “This jury trial waiver shall not affect or be interpreted as modifying in any fashion the dispute clause set forth in the following section, if applicable, which contains its own separate jury trial waiver”. It also helps bridge the gap while their cars are being repaired and ridded of software that was created to ace emissions tests while secretly belching out far more pollutants than is legally allowed in real-world driving conditions.

Other angry VW owners who wrote to CNNMoney used terms like “slap in the face” and “scandalous” to describe the apologetic payout, which will come in the form of a gift card that can be used anywhere.

No. Volkswagen is still offering a $2,000 loyalty bonus for customers who trade in affected diesels, among other incentives.

“We are providing this goodwill package as a first step towards regaining our customers’ trust”, said Michael Horn, the head of VW’s USA operations.

“If we get them to clarify, people should take it at face value and proceed to use the money as they see fit”, Coffin said.

“The gift cards could be one of the issues in the class-action lawsuit, and they could leverage it to put the class action lawsuit in South Dakota”, Bernal said Wednesday.

VW has urged staff to provide information on the introduction of its emissions-cheating software – promising they will not be sacked.

The company is recalling 8.5 million 2009-2015 model year cars with the software across Europe, starting next year, including the 2.4 million in Germany.