US Judge approves $15bn settlement for VW scandal
A US judge has given final approval to a $14.7bn settlement in the Volkswagen emissions scandal. The German carmaker has agreed to spend up to $10bn buying back or repairing affected vehicles and compensate owners with sums of between $5,000 and $10,000. Another $4.7bn will go towards clean car projects and programmes offsetting excess carbon emissions. The deal, which was agreed in June, came after negotiations between VW, US regulators and plaintiffs representing affected car owners.

US-based owners of Volkswagen vehicles affected by the manufacturer's infamous emissions scandal will now be able to sell their cars back to dealerships, after the company was granted final approval on its proposed $14.7 billion compensation deal. US district judge Charles Breyer approved the plan, which was first hammered out in June this year, and sets aside just over $10 billion for customers who want to trade their vehicles in for pre-scandal prices or who are waiting for repairs.

US owners will get pre-scandal prices at trade-in

In addition to buyback fees, owners of the 475,000 cars implicated in the scandal — including Beetles, Passats, and Audi A3s released since 2009 — will also get between $5,100 and $10,000 as an apology. People can also choose to hang on to their cars in anticipation that Volkswagen will fix the problems at its own expense, and have until September 2018 to make their minds up about what they want to do. If the company doesn't repair or fix at least 85 percent of affected cars by June 2019, it's on the hook for further penalties.