San Francisco / Wolfsburg – There is progress, but far from being a strong kick: In order to get into the US, the epicenter of the gas crisis to bounce back, is Europe’s largest carmaker must offer to buy back a large part of his there almost 600 000. manipulated diesel.
a recall with improvements in the workshop is not enough. Volkswagen also affected owners must “substantial damages” pay. This is the core of a first compromise between VW and the US authorities, the responsible US judge Charles Breyer approved on Thursday as a milestone. However, a lot of question marks.
MeFor details and totals to the solution are still unclear. Until June 21 – a day before the VW AGM – Breyer has set a deadline. Until then, it is intended to bring more clarity to the solutions
Although the absolute sums are fixed, so much is already clear. The financial consequences of exhaust affair be «substantial and painful”, Group CEO Matthias Müller had said a few weeks ago. On this perspective, Breyers endorsement does not change.
buy back Should the Group also only half of the total affected 600 000. cars, this would correspond to around $ 20,000 The average price per car a total of 6 billion dollars (a good 5.3 billion euros) load. must fear.
Furthermore, the Group fines. The US has VW sues of environmental laws for fraud and breach, it threatens tens of billions of costs. By comparison, the highest ever compensation in the US had the Hyundai-Kia group pay – $ 100 million in 2014 for illicit greenhouse gas emissions
Still, for. Volkswagen of US judge Beyer announced in San Francisco costs are likely to feel like a step in the right direction – after weeks of anxious waiting and paralysis
On closer examination, however, this is only one side of the coin. For long be noisy from VW customers and their lawyers around the globe similar demands. In Germany, for example, report on the consumer protection claims and warn Volkswagen, its US customers in the exhaust affair generous to compensate as VW driver at home. The Wolfsburg underlined on Thursday again their line: “The now coming regulations in the US will be felt no legal effect in proceedings outside the United States.”
at home in Germany solves the contradiction: “Volkswagen now has to finally play with open cards and clarify how they intend to compensate the German customers,” says about the boss of the auto Club Europa (ACE), Stefan Heimlich, in Stuttgart. No one can understand why US owners should receive reparations, while customers in this country looked into the exhaust tube.
The US has in the exhaust gas crisis a special role, from the group has never hidden. “The situation in the US is fundamentally different than in Europe,” said about Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess the Geneva Motor Show in February. He justified this the offered voluntarily by the Group $ 1000 compensation packages for US customers, while the owners of the world’s remaining approximately 10.5 million manipulated Diesel came empty-handed.
from the perspective of this Volkswagen US special treatment is quite understandable: nowhere threaten the consequences of the scandal to be so expensive, nowhere is so much at stake. the corner points of the compromise now found in the United States are for the VW Group therefore certainly a milestone, a point profit -. but no clear
The biggest unknown in the long list of uncertainties, the punishment of the US Department of Justice, is still with a thick question mark on another paper. The civil suit seeks fines of more than 45 billion dollars. There are also hundreds of other complaints from car owners, but also by other US authorities. . Other factors threaten reparation payments to customers, other legal risks – not to mention the damage to their image quite
However, there are now setting a course: VW has teamed up with the class action plaintiffs whose cases are handled by Justice Breyer in San Francisco, agreed on the outlines of a settlement. “This agreement will be transferred in the coming weeks in a comprehensive comparison,” said a company spokesman. The exact costs are however still uncertain, but the way to resolve is now being followed.
profess More color has Volkswagen this Friday when the Board establishes the basic parameters the annual results approved and therefore they must also inform the public. Although the overall financial statement is only on April 28 on the table – but the expected risks are already evident with the provisions in the balance sheet for 2015
Ad. hoc Announcements of the VW Group
Annual Reports of the VW Group
Press releases of the VW Group
Press releases of the US subsidiary of the VW Group
US judge Charles Breyer
Press releases of the US Department of Justice
action of the United States against Volkswagen
US customers lawsuit against Volkswagen
VW shareholder
No comments:
Post a Comment