$98M for VW, Audi, Porsche owners

Owners of nearly 100,000 Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche and Bentley vehicles will get almost $100 million after their parent company agreed to compensate them for overstating the fuel economy performance of their vehicles.

Each vehicle will qualify for a maximum of $518.40 to $2,332.80, according to plaintiffs attorneys involved in the class-action settlement.

It’s difficult to say how much the settlement is worth for each individual owner. That’s because anyone who owned each qualifying vehicle at any point is eligible for the settlement.

“We are very pleased to reach a settlement that provides owners and lessees full compensation for having driven vehicles that did not obtain the represented fuel economy,” said David Stellings, a Lieff Cabraser lawyer who represented the plaintiffs, in a statement. “This is a great resolution for the class.”

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The Environmental Protection Agency said that Volkswagen Group, which controls the four brands, had overstated the average fuel economy on involved vehicles by an average of 1 mile per gallon.

The settlement involves a wide range of models from the 2013 through 2017 model years, most of which were Porsche, Audi and Bentley vehicles, including the Porsche Cayenne and Audi A8L.

Payouts will range from $5.40 to $24.30 for every month someone owned or leased the vehicle. Owners will be required to file a claim to receive compensation after a court signs off.

The settlement comes after the EPA reached similar settlements in recent years with several other automakers that overstated average gas mileage, including BMW, Ford and Hyundai.

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As a consequence of an EPA investigation, Volkswagen will forfeit certain federal emissions credits. But the company did not admit liability as a result of the settlement.

“Volkswagen is committed to providing customers with transparent fuel economy data for our vehicles, in line with U.S. labeling requirements,” Pietro Zollino, Volkswagen spokesman, said in a statement.

The EPA said it discovered during its investigation into Volkswagen’s diesel emissions scandal that the automaker had installed software that enabled gasoline vehicles to perform better during federal tests than in real life.

The software was used on about 1 million vehicles. Of those, 98,000 are included in the settlement after the EPA found that they had incorrect fuel economy ratings due to the software.

The full list of vehicles getting their fuel economy performance restated can be found at http://epa.gov/recalls/fuel-economy-label-updates.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.