Executive Summary of Final Class Settlement Program for 3.0 Liter Engines

Volkswagen and Audi (collectively “Volkswagen”) along with Porsche (together with Volkswagen, the “Defendants”) have reached three Settlements related to allegations that they installed defeat device software to bypass emissions standards in the 3.0-liter TDI diesel vehicles listed below:

• A Class Action Settlement with 3.0-liter vehicle owners/lessees, including certain former owners/lessees and vehicle dealers (“3.0-liter Class Action Settlement”);
• A Consent Decree with the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the State of California by and through the California Air Resources Board (“CARB”) and the California Attorney General (“CA AG”) (“US/CA Settlement”); and
• A Consent Order with the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) (“FTC Settlement”).

As summarized in the executive summary, the 3.0-liter Class Action Settlement, if approved by the Court, provides substantial compensation to ALL 3.0-liter Class Members. Not all Class Members have the same options, because there are two “Generations” of 3.0-liter vehicles with different engine designs. At present, Volkswagen believes that there are no practical engineering solutions that would, without negative impact to vehicle functions and unacceptable delay, bring Generation One vehicles into compliance with the emissions standards to which they were originally certified. By contrast, Defendants expect that Generation Two vehicles can be repaired to compliance with the original emissions standards (the “Certified Exhaust Emissions Standards”) without materially reducing vehicle performance, and the DOJ/EPA/CARB have determined that Defendants should be given this opportunity. The Class Settlement provides specific procedures, deadlines, and consequences for delay or rejection of a proposed Emissions Compliant Repair of Generation Two vehicles.

As a result, for Generation One vehicles, in addition to any Reduced Emissions Modification that becomes available, a Buyback, Trade-In, and Lease Termination Option will become available immediately upon Final Approval. The Buyback, Trade-In, and Lease Termination Options will become available to those with Generation Two vehicles (or some subset of those vehicles) only if an Emissions Compliant Repair does not timely become available. However, Class Members with Generation Two vehicles will not have to wait until an Emissions Compliant Repair is available to receive compensation: they can receive an upfront payment (Repair Participation Payment) of up to 50% of their expected cash compensation upon Final Approval.

Regardless of Generation, all 3.0-liter Eligible Owners and Eligible Lessees who do not opt out of the Class will be entitled to substantial cash compensation and many additional benefits described below, and in detail on the Settlement Website, www.VWCourtSettlement.com.

Eligible Former Owners and Eligible Former Lessees who do not opt out of the Class will also be entitled to substantial cash compensation. Because a car may have more than one owner during the relevant period, for those cars that changed hands, the Settlement equitably divides Owner Restitution 50/50 between the owner as of September 18, 2015 and/or November 2, 2015 when the emissions accusations became public (“Eligible Former Owner”) and the current owner (“Eligible Owner”). Similarly, if an “Eligible Former Lessee” leased a car as of September 18, 2015 and/or November 2, 2015 when the emissions accusations became public and, after the lease expired, the car was purchased by a different person, the Settlement divides the payment between the Eligible Former Lessee and the Eligible Owner. For more information on the benefits available to Eligible Former Owners and Eligible Former Lessees, visit www.VWCourtSettlement.com.

This is a claims-made settlement. The amount Volkswagen will pay depends on how many Class Members timely file valid and complete claims. If the Emissions Compliant Repair is timely available for the Generation Two vehicles and 100% of Class Members with Generation One and Generation Two vehicles participate in the Settlement, Volkswagen has agreed to pay up to approximately $1.2 billion in combined compensation. If the Emissions Compliant Repair is not timely available for the Generation Two vehicles and 100% of Class Members with Generation One and Generation Two vehicles participate in the Settlement, Volkswagen has agreed to pay up to approximately $4.04 billion in combined compensation. In addition, under the related US/CA Settlement, Volkswagen will pay an additional $225 million to mitigate the environmental effects of excess NOx emissions and, separately, Volkswagen has committed to pay $25 million to CARB to support the use of zero emissions vehicles in California. The ultimate goal of these Agreements is to compensate all owners or lessees of 3.0-liter Eligible Vehicles for any harm they suffered as a result of the emissions issues, and to ensure that any excess NOx emissions from Defendants’ 3.0-liter TDI vehicles are mitigated.

View or download the entire executive summary via the embedded document below (use arrow keys to scroll all pages or select the “full-screen” icon in the lower right of the embedded document.