VW to Offer Owners $1,000 in Gift Cards
Detroit — Volkswagen is offering $1,000 in gift cards and vouchers as a goodwill gesture to owners of small diesel-powered cars involved in an emissions cheating scandal.
The offer announced Monday goes to owners of 482,000 cars in the U.S., many who are angry at the company because they paid extra for the cars to be environmentally sensitive without losing peppy acceleration.
VW is working on a fix for the cars, which are equipped with software that turns on pollution controls during government tests and turns them off while on the road. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the cars, with 2-liter four-cylinder diesel engines, emit 10 to 40 times the allowable amount of harmful nitrogen oxide while being driven. The offer also includes free roadside assistance for the diesel vehicles for three years.
“We are working tirelessly to develop an approved remedy for affected vehicles,” said Michael Horn, VW’s U.S. CEO, said in a statement. “In the meantime we are providing this goodwill package as a first step towards regaining our customers’ trust.”
VW said that its Audi luxury brand would launch the same program on Friday.
Meanwhile, Germany’s Transport Ministry said Monday that of the 2. 4 million vehicles being recalled for fixes in Germany, regulators “currently expect that approximately 540,000 will also need hardware changes” as well as software changes. It says Volkswagen will inform owners of the details. The company is recalling 8.5 million 2009-2015 model year cars with the software across Europe, starting next year. It says about 11 million cars worldwide have the software. — Associated Press
