Volkswagen to pay out £193m in UK 'dieselgate' settlement

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Volkswagen will pay a total of nearly 200 million dollars to settle a High Court claim over the installation of emissions cheating devices in its vehicles.

The German car company apologized again and said it was working to rebuild trust.

VW is facing litigation in several countries because of thedieselgate scandal.

The group has paid out more than 30 billion dollars.

Civil settlements, fines, compensation, and buyback schemes are included.

The use of "defeat devices" meant that Volkswagen's cars were certified as conforming to EU pollution standards when, in reality, they were emitting up to 40 times the legally permitted amount of nitrogen dioxide.

Nitrogen dioxide has been linked to respiratory diseases and premature death.

Almost 1.2 million vehicles in the UK were affected.

More than 91,000 motorists in England and Wales took action against VW and its subsidiaries.

They claimed that VW misled them about the ratings of their cars and that it affected the value of their vehicles.

The claim, which lawyers said would have been the biggest ever brought by a group of consumers in the UK, was due to go to trial in January.

Volkswagen said it had made no admission of liability but that the legal costs of a six-month trial in England meant a settlement was the most prudent course of action.

It will pay out a total of £193m, allocated between the claims in proportions agreed by their solicitors, as well as a separate contribution towards their legal costs.

The Volkswagen Group would once again like to apologize to their customers for the two mode software installed in their vehicles. The Volkswagen Group will continue to work to rebuild the trust of their customers in England and Wales.

Philip Haarmann, chief legal officer of Volkswagen AG, said the settlement was an important milestone as the Volkswagen Group continues to move beyond the deeply regrettable events leading up to September 2015.

The settlement avoids the need for a lengthy, complex and expensive trial process and we are delighted to have achieved this settlement for our customers as a result of the group action.