VW Dealers in U.S. Seek Reparations for Diesel Scandal

Volkswagen AG’s dealers in the U.S. has asked the company to compensate them for the financial damaged inflicted upon their businesses by VW’s continuing diesel emission cheating scandal.

Alan Brown, who chairs VW’s U.S. dealer council, tells Automotive News the proposal was presented to top company executives in Germany last week. Details about the amount of compensation were not discussed, and VW has made no commitment to pay dealers.

The company’s 650 U.S. retailers have been hit by a general falloff in demand for all models since the crisis began in mid-September. They also are struggling with a federal ban on selling diesel-powered cars, which once accounted for about 20% of their volume, until VW reaches agreement with federal and California environmental agencies about how to fix the 580,000 affected vehicles.

Brown tells AN the VW executives backed away from an earlier proposal to shift the brand’s sales focus in the U.S. from mainstream small and midsize cars and crossovers to near-premium models. The newspaper says the dealers’ compensation proposal and VW’s sales objectives are certain to be primary topics at VW’s brand meeting in Las Vegas on April 2.