[V]ermont will reap $6.5 million in a new settlement with Volkswagen and its subsidiaries, Audi and Porsche, which the state says violated consumer protection laws by making deceptive claims in advertising “clean diesel” vehicles.
The Vermont Attorney General’s Office announced the settlement Wednesday and said the windfall would allow consumers who purchased vehicles that were marketed under false pretenses to receive up to $1,000 in restitution payments.
Of the total settlement, $2.9 million will be paid out to consumers and the remaining $3.6 million will land in the state’s general fund — though officials said it likely won’t arrive there until the next fiscal year.
Vermont’s latest legal win against VW comes after the attorney general scored a $4.2 million settlement with the company last year, alleging the company violated the state’s environmental laws.
The state also received a small portion of a $15 billion settlement between state and federal governments and the company that was approved in 2016.
For years, Volkswagen equipped many of its diesel vehicles with software that was able to detect when vehicles were being tested for emissions, according to Assistant Attorney General Merideth Chaudoir.
“It was a software that could test when it was being tested,” she said.
While under examination, the vehicles reduced their emissions output, but outside of the testing environment vehicles emitted up to 40 times the allowable level of nitrous oxide, Chaudoir said.
Some Porsche and Audi models, which are manufactured by the Volkswagen Group, used the same software technology, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
Consumers who purchased these vehicles — which were manufactured in model years 2009-16 — will be eligible to receive restitution.
In the coming months, the state will be working to identify and contact Vermonters who may qualify to receive payments.
Officials said that consumers who may have already received payments from Volkswagen in the form of a vehicle buy-back can still receive the restitution from the Attorney General’s settlement.
Most of the national settlement between states, the federal government and VW went toward buying back vehicles from consumers.
But Vermont also received a $18.7 million cut of the earnings, which the Agency of Natural Resources hopes to harness to boost electrical vehicle use in the state.
Among other initiatives, the agency hopes to use the settlement to establish an electric bus pilot program and to install vehicle charging stations.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday morning, Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan championed the latest Volkswagen settlement.
“When companies mislead Vermonters, we’re going to hold them accountable,” he said.
