Dieselgate: No goodwill plan yet for Aussie owners, says VW

The package mainly includes a Visa gift card worth $500 and a $500 store credit to be used for services and merchandise from VW dealers.

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

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

VW owners have been frustrated as the German carmaker still has not engineered a fix for the diesels. This notice alleges Volkswagen developed and installed a defeat device in VW, Audi and Porsche diesel vehicles equipped with 3.0 liter engines for model years 2014 through 2016.

Owners of the following vehicles are eligible for the package. “Volkswagen should cooperate fully with federal criminal and civil investigations that will provide redress for taxpayers as well vehicle owners – the company needs to get serious”.

Volkswagen shares opened Tuesday trading down 40 cents, or 1.5%, to $25.66 U.S, in the lower regions of a 52-week trading range of $22.71 U.S.to $52.87 U.S. Previously, it recorded a charge to earnings of 6.7 billion euros to pay the costs of fixing diesel cars affected by software that could lower emissions during testing. The compensation will be sent via mail, upon which drivers can go to a VW dealership to activate the cards.

According to the Associated Press, Volkswagen brand manager Herbert Diess told staff in a letter Thursday that the company won’t seek damages or fire employees for what they might reveal.

VW said that its Audi luxury brand would launch the same program on Friday.

The question, said attorney Patrick Bernal of Witten, Woolmington, Campbell & Bernal, P.C.in Manchester Center, is whether his clients in a class-action lawsuit against VW would be signing away their rights to a jury trial in the lawsuit by accepting the gift cards.

The company says up to 11 million vehicles worldwide have the software that helped cheat on the US emissions tests. “There are no strings attached”, she said.

Volkswagen Australia has not made a local public statement relating to the emissions scandal since it announced on October 9 a voluntary recall for vehicles affected by the diesel cheat.

“Volkswagen customers are very sophisticated and will see these little gift cards for what they are – much too little, much too late”, Hilliard said.