Volkswagen Settlement: What we Know
VW Settlement Fact Sheet
(Last updated: September 20, 2016)
Due to its emissions cheating and resulting air emissions, Volkswagen (VW) is both being held responsible for replacing vehicles that violate emission standards and being penalized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Penalty funds will be used to increase investments in zero emission vehicle deployments. Below is information from the Preliminary Approval Settlement from July 29, 2016. For all court documents, forms, and notices please visit www.VWCourtSettlement.com.
Financial Details
- Consumer Recalls. VW must spend $10 billion to buyback and/or perform Approved Emissions Modifications by June 30, 2019 on at least 85% of its 2.0 liter subject vehicles that were sold from 2009-2015 – If VW does not achieve its Recall Rate then it must pay additional funds to the Mitigation Trust.
- VW must offer every Eligible Owner and Eligible Lessee of an Eligible Vehicle the option of buyback of their vehicle, lease termination, or an emissions modification to bring the vehicle up to EPA standards.
- These programs will begin no later than 15 days after the Effective Date[1] of the final Consent Decree (Fall 2016).
- ZEV Infrastructure and Outreach. VW will invest $2 billion over a 10-year period to support increased use of technology for Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) in the US. This will include:
- ZEV Infrastructure: Design/planning, construction/installation, operation, and maintenance of ZEV infrastructure
- Access to ZEVs: Programs to increase public exposure and/or access to ZEVs without requiring the consumer to purchase or lease a ZEV at full market value, e.g., the operation of ZEV car sharing services or ZEV ride hailing services
- ZEV Education: Brand-neutral education or public outreach that builds or increases public awareness of ZEVs
- State-based Emission Reduction. VW will pay $2.7 billion to fund Eligible Mitigation Actions [2] that will reduce emissions of NOx where the 2.0 liter subject vehicles were, are, or will be operated. New York is anticipated to receive an initial allocation of $117,402,744.
What is the Mitigation Trust?
- Funds will be managed and disbursed by a Mitigation Trust to be determined by the Office of the Governor – an agency, department, office or division which will be delegated authority to act on behalf of the state.
What you can do
- Engage with your state office: All states must submit Beneficiary Mitigation Plans in order to receive its initial allocation. These proposals must be submitted to the Mitigation Trust’s trustees once they have been chosen. This plan must include:
- Overall Goal for the use of the funds, such as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, CO2 or NOx
- The categories of Eligible Mitigation Actions and percentage of funds to be used for each category
- Assessment of potential emission benefit impacts in areas that bear a disproportionate share of the air pollution burden
- A general description of the expected ranges of emission benefits
- Send comments to the US Dept of Justice: The proposed settlement, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. Information on submitting comments is available at the Department of Justice website at: justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. All public plans, reports, and other information can be found at: www.VWCourtSettlement.com
Did You Know?
- The Capital District has an EV Charging Station Plan? Find it at: capitalcleancommunities.org.
- There is funding assistance for ZEVs and infrastructure through the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation’s ZEV Rebate program? Email ZEVrebate@dec.ny.gov for more information.
- Local governments interested in greening their fleets and/or deploying EV infrastructure in their communities can receive technical and funding assistance through the NYS Clean Energy Communities Program? Elected officials or employees of local governments can email cec@nyserda.ny.gov for assistance navigating the program.
Affected Models
| Model Year | EPA Test Group | Vehicle Make and Model(s) |
| 2009 | 9VWXV02.035N | VW Jetta, VW Jetta Sportwagen |
| 2009 | 9VWXV02.0U5N | VW Jetta, VW Jetta Sportwagen |
| 2010 | AVWXV02.0U5N | VW Golf, VW Jetta, VW Jetta Sportwagen, Audi A3 |
| 2011 | BVWXV02.0U5N | VW Golf, VW Jetta, VW Jetta Sportwagen, Audi A3 |
| 2012 | CVWXV02.0U5N | VW Golf, VW Jetta, VW Jetta Sportwagen, Audi A3 |
| 2012 | CVWXV02.0U4S | VW Passat |
| 2013 | DVWXV02.0U5N | VW Beetle, VW Beetle Convertible, VW Golf, VW
Jetta, VW Jetta Sportwagen, Audi A3 |
| 2013 | DVWXV02.0U4S | VW Passat |
| 2014 | EVWXV02.0U5N | VW Beetle, VW Beetle Convertible, VW Golf, VW
Jetta, VW Jetta Sportwagen |
| 2014 | EVWXV02.0U4S | VW Passat |
| 2015 | FVGAV02.0VAL | VW Beetle, VW Beetle Convertible, VW Golf, VW
Golf Sportwagen, VW Jetta, VW Passat, Audi A3 |
This summary information is provided by Capital District Clean Communities for informational purposes only. Click here to download this fact sheet. Please refer to the original documents for complete information.
[1] “Effective Date” means the date when a fully executed version of the Trust Agreement is filed with the US Court
[2] See Exhibit A for list of “Eligible Mitigation Actions”