Volkswagen will pay the state of Ohio a settlement of $3.5 million due to the now-infamous 2015 Dieselgate scandal that continues to hang a heavy cloud over the German automaker. The payment is after claims VW violated state laws.
If you’ve been stuck under a rock for the past seven years, Volkswagen fitted defeat device software to nearly 11 million vehicles sold around the world. The software sensed when vehicles were being tested and reduced emissions but saw cars produce higher than legal emissions under normal driving conditions. The carmaker then misled the EPA when the questioning began in 2014.
Ohio’s lawsuit pertained to software updates installed after vehicles were sold. VW’s software updates allowed cars to be put into “test” mode, which suspended normal driving operations and reduced emissions only during testing.
See Also: BMW And VW Fined $1 Billion By European Union For Emissions Fixing
Volkswagen’s agreement is a fraction of what Ohio had initially wanted. According to Reuters, court documents told that the state’s claims could have totaled $350 million per day, which would have been $127 billion per year. The settlement will be split between the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the attorney’s general office.
The German automaker had initially tried to argue that the Clean Air Act meant that only the federal government could pursue emissions claims, with VW already settling more than $20 billion with the EPA. However, the Supreme Court rejected their bid, allowing lawsuits to be filed by states.
In addition to the Ohio settlement, there are pending lawsuits from Texas and two counties in Utah and Florida.
“This agreement fully resolves Ohio’s legacy claims and puts this matter behind the company as we focus on building a future of sustainable mobility,” VW said.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said, “the damage to the environment and consumer trust required us to hold Volkswagen accountable and this settlement does that.”
