Audi Agrees to $85 Million Settlement with Texas Over Diesel Emissions Scandal

In relation to alleged environmental law violations in Texas brought on by the diesel cheating scandal, Volkswagen and its Audi division reached an $85 million settlement in principle on Thursday, May 26.

The Settlement

The Texas Supreme Court decided earlier this month that the state’s environmental case against Volkswagen and Audi may proceed.

Volkswagen, which declined to comment on Thursday, has paid more than $20 billion to resolve U.S. lawsuits brought about by the emissions issue. Still, courts have previously determined that this did not exclude them from the obligation to municipal and state governments.

According to the current agreement, German manufacturers must pay an $85 million civil penalty for their illegal behavior.

Volkswagen Conspiracy

Volkswagen admitted using sophisticated software to get around pollution regulations in about 11 million vehicles globally in 2015. It also deceived the United States Environmental Protection Agency, which began investigating the situation in 2014.

This incident is primarily known as the “diesel dupe.” The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) discovered in September 2015 that many Volkswagen vehicles sold in America had software or a “defeat device” in their diesel engines that could recognize when they were being tested and adjust their operation to provide better results. The German automaker has subsequently admitted to cheating on emissions testing in the United States.

In 2021, Volkswagen’s U.S. subsidiary made the failed argument that only the federal government may prosecute pollution claims under the historic Clean Air Act. Ohio and VW reached a settlement in 2022 for USD 3.5 million, which was far less than what the state had initially requested. 

As per ET Auto, earlier court documents from VW stated that Ohio’s claims may have amounted to “USD 350 million per day, or more than USD 127 billion per year, over a multi-year period.”

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