Sept. 3, 2019—Lawyers for owners of 98,000 Volkswagen vehicles that had fuel economy labels that overstated efficiency will ask for $26 million in attorney's fees and costs, reported Reuters. There have been nearly 15 months of negotiations.
On Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said the automaker must forfeit greenhouse gas emission credits and lower the fuel economy ratings on those vehicles. Volkswagen said on Friday it had agreed to a $96.5 million court settlement to reimburse 98,000 consumers.
The $26 million settlement is separate from the $96.5 million. The EPA said Volkswagen’s software lowered the fuel economy rating on 98,000 vehicles by about one mile per gallon, or 3.5 percent. The software was on about 1 million 2013-17 model year Audi, Bentley, Porsche and Volkswagen vehicles, the agency said. It caused the transmission to shift gears in a manner that sometimes optimizes fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions during the EPA-prescribed emissions test, but not under normal driving conditions.
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