German car manufacturing giant Volkswagen has been beset with scandals over the past few years, and while the company is trying to turn over a new leaf, the aftermath of the scandals keep bugging it. The emission scandal had almost threatened to take down the company a few years ago, and the company is still settling cases in different countries over it. In a new development, Volkswagen settled lawsuits in Australia that had been filed on behalf of customers in the country who had been victims of the diesel emissions scandal. The scandal was a global one, and it is not a surprise that the aftermath of the scandal is still being felt by the German company. The company has settled the lawsuits and has agreed to cough up as much as A$ 127 million to settle these cases with the affected Australian customers.
In a statement, Volkswagen stated that all affected customers who had owned a Skoda, Volkswagen or Audi car would be paid $1400 as part of the settlement. A spokesperson for the company stated that this settlement marks an important step in the company’s quest to settle the lawsuits in Australia. That being said, it is important to note that the company has made no admissions and is also going to take care of the legal costs of all those who had filed the class-action lawsuits against the German company. Julian Schimmel, the principal lawyer in charge of the lawsuit, stated,
This is an important step in providing a measure of justice and redress to the thousands of Australian motorists who claim they were financially impacted by the diesel emissions issue.
The emissions scandal has rocked Volkswagen ever since it first surfaced and over the past few years, the company has had to spend billions of dollars in order to settle cases worldwide. In the United States alone, the company has had to pay $25 billion in settlements and claims. In addition to that, the company has also suggested that it could buy back around half a million polluting vehicles in the country. The Australian settlement is hence the latest settlement in a long line of such settlements that have been agreed by the company over the past couple of years. It should be noted that the settlement will be finalized once it has been approved by a court.
