VW diesel owners to get $1000

The German recall is part of a scandal that came to light September 18, when US officials said that Volkswagen had programmed diesel engines on 482,000 cars to disable emission controls when the vehicles were not being tested.

As many as 11 million VW and Audi cars worldwide are involved in the test-rigging scandal. The second card is also valued at $500, and can be used toward a purchase or service transaction at a Volkswagen dealership.

Once registered, the loyalty package will be mailed within four weeks, and then the vehicle owners can get their Visa debit card and VW gift card at an authorized dealer, reported Mashable.

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.

VW says there are procedures that must be followed to receive the offer. In Australia, the tally of Audi, Skoda and Volkswagen passenger cars and commercial vehicles linked to Dieselgate has reached nearly 100,000 vehicles.

Calling it a “goodwill package”, VW hopes this is the first step in regaining the trust of its customers.

Wellington lawyer Edward Cox, who is organising a group legal action against Volkswagen, said the U.S. offer “appeared consistent with what they describe as a goodwill offer” but is disappointed not to have received an indication that New Zealand owners stand to be compensated. Furthermore, owners of VW vehicles (and numerous Audis and even a few Porsches) with the 3.0-liter TDI the EPA recently alleged to also have emissions cheating software aren’t eligible yet, as VW is still investigating the matter. Since the emissions scandal erupted, the owners of the diesel cars in the United States have been caught in a limbo, Fox News reports.

Please note that VW Touareg TDI models are not included in this program.

A few VW owners said they were concerned that any fixes will hurt their fuel economy.

Volkswagen admitted to manipulating the numbers through a special software program.

For vehicles not now covered by Volkswagen, the towing coverage will begin when you register the cards at a dealership.

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.