Volkswagen to Offer One-Off Payment to Some Diesel Car Owners After German Court Ruling

   By Jessica Sier

Volkswagen AG said Monday that it will offer one-off payments to some owners of diesel cars that were installed with emissions-test dodging software after a German federal court judge ruled it must pay compensation to these customers.

"Volkswagen will now offer the plaintiffs a pragmatic and simple solution with one-off payments," the company in a statement. "How high these payments will be depends on the individual case."

There are currently 60,000 cases pending in Germany's lower courts.

The German car maker said some issues were not addressed in Monday's ruling, including whether a claim exists for vehicles purchased after September 2015, when information about the diesel-manipulation software was public.

"We are convinced that plaintiffs do not have any claims if they had known about the switchover logic at the time of purchase," Volkswagen said.

The company said there are around 10,000 cases adhering to these circumstances.

According to the statement by the Bundesgerichtshof, the federal court of justice, the judges based their decision on the fact Volkswagen had not behaved in a way that was "compatible with the fundamental values of the legal and moral order."

Volkswagen shares were down 0.6% to EUR131.96 at 1139 GMT.

Write to Jessica Sier at jessica.sier@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 25, 2020 08:11 ET (12:11 GMT)

Volkswagen (TG:VOW3)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024