VW Setting Up Program For Diesel-Owner Claims
December 18 2015 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
(FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 12/18/15)
By Mike Spector
Volkswagen AG tapped victims-compensation expert Kenneth
Feinberg to run a program addressing U.S. owners' claims linked to
the German auto giant's tainted diesel-powered vehicles.
Mr. Feinberg, who earlier set up compensation funds for victims
of defective
General Motors Co. cars and the BP PLC Deepwater Horizon oil
disaster, said he would immediately start crafting a program on
Volkswagen's behalf.
Separately, Tesla Motors Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk and
others urged California regulators force Volkswagen to accelerate
its offering of environmental-friendly vehicles as punishment for
cheating on emissions tests with diesel-powered cars.
In addition to Mr. Musk, the letter to California Air Resources
Board regulators was signed by Internet entrepreneur and former
eBay Inc. executive Jeff Skoll and Michael Brune, executive
director of the Sierra Club.
Representatives for Volkswagen and Tesla had no immediate
comment on the letter. A CARB spokesman said, "Our focus has and
will continue to be cleaning the air and advancing the cleanest
vehicle and fuel technologies."
Mr. Feinberg is developing a program for Volkswagen customers
using input from vehicle owners, their lawyers and others. Michael
Horn, Volkswagen's top U.S. executive, said Mr. Feinberg's
experience would "help to guide us as we move forward to make
things right with our customers."
Mr. Feinberg's program would address U.S. owners of nearly
500,000 cars with two-liter diesel engines and roughly 85,000
vehicles with three-liter diesel engines that regulators found
contained illegal software able to dupe government emissions tests.
The affected brands include Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche.
Volkswagen and Audi officials were scheduled to meet with U.S.
environmental regulators on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively,
this week to discuss possible fixes for the vehicles, said a person
familiar with the matter. Regulators are expected to address
proposed fixes for the two-liter diesel engines by Tuesday.
Camille Biros, a member of Mr. Feinberg's firm who also will
work on the Volkswagen effort, declined to provide a specific time
frame for unveiling the program. The firm hopes to develop a
protocol over the next several weeks, she said.
The hiring of Mr. Feinberg comes as Volkswagen faces civil
lawsuits, criminal and regulatory probes in the U.S., Europe and
elsewhere related to emissions cheating. The company has said it is
cooperating with the probes.
In Germany, Volkswagen made sweeping changes to its senior
management in what the company said was a move to reduce complexity
and speed up decision making. The moves are designed to reduce by
nearly half the number of direct reports to its chief executive,
the company said.
Among the new executive appointees: Ulrich Eichhorn, managing
director of German automotive industry association VDA, will lead
overall research and development, while Volkswagen group services
head Fred Kappler assumes responsibility for overall sales, the
company said.
---
Friedrich Geiger and Monica Houston-Waesch contributed to this
article.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 18, 2015 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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