Volkswagen reportedly promises dealer-compensation plan within the next month
You think the customers have it bad? Try basing your income on selling cars you can't sell.
Dealers are understandably salty after being forced to clean up corporate's messes. After all, who do the customers interact with most often -- the suits on high, or local dealers?
When Volkswagen announced its $15 billion settlement with the US government over its diesel malfeasance, the company covered how it would reimburse diesel owners -- but it made no mention of dealers. According to a new report, VW should have its dealer restitution set up within a month.
Dealers who met with
told The Wall Street Journal that the company plans to finalize its restitution plan within a month. Up until this point, very little has been announced in the way of dealer compensation, even though their livelihoods have been affected by Volkswagen's misdeeds.The company also reportedly discussed the potential timeline for implementing fixes for the three generations of diesel vehicles included in Dieselgate. The two latest generations should be fixed with software alone, while the first generation requires a mix of both hardware and software fixes. This, of course, supposes that federal regulators sign off on these fixes, which they haven't yet.
"We maintain a regular dialogue with the Volkswagen National Dealer Advisory Council as we work to make things right," a Volkswagen spokeswoman said in an emailed statement. "We cannot comment further on ongoing discussions."
Volkswagen's diesel vehicles comprised some 20 percent of its US sales, so it's easy to see why dealers are looking for answers. The company first ended up in hot water after it was revealed to have deceived regulators -- while its diesels performed well in laboratory environments, the vehicles would go on to pollute well in excess of legal limits once out on the road.