8 In a legal dispute over false fuel consumption figures, Porsche has agreed to pay at least $80 million (almost EUR 76 million) in damages in the US. The Volkswagen subsidiary announced on Thursday that a settlement has been reached with the class action plaintiffs to settle civil claims. “The allegations relate to possible differences in fuel economy and emissions.”
The sports car and SUV manufacturer did not acknowledge the allegations made during the trial, the company stressed. The agreement serves to resolve the dispute out of court and only applies to vehicles sold in the US.
Money goes to the owners
According to the settlement filed in the San Francisco court, the agreement covers approximately 500,000 vehicles built between 2005 and 2020 whose fuel economy figures have been misrepresented. The plaintiffs accuse Porsche of having physically modified test vehicles, which had an impact on emissions and fuel economy. Affected vehicle owners must receive payments between $250 and $1,100. The settlement has yet to be approved by a federal judge.
The class action lawsuit stems from a 2020 Spiegel report in which Porsche checked the fuel consumption figures of its vehicles after a whistleblower reported alleged irregularities in transmission parts of petrol models. Porsche objected at the time that it had detected possible deviations from type approvals itself. According to the lawsuit, the findings prompted Porsche to report them to the German and American authorities.
Source: Krone
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