Bosch Expected To Settle VW Dieselgate Suit For $300 Million

A settlement of more than $300 million is expected from Robert Bosch, a major supplier to Volkswagen. A knowledgeable source told Reuters Monday that the payment would settle a suit filed by U.S. owners of Volkswagen turbodiesel affected by the Dieselgate scandal.

Bosch was sued in 2015 by VW turbodiesel owners who claimed the supplier helped to design the program code for the software “defeat device” that let VW rig emissions tests so that it would look as if VW’s products were compliant with U.S. emissions rules. Bosch was called a “knowing and active participant” in the scandal.

While declining comment Monday, Bosch had earlier called owner claims “wild and unfounded,” a Reuters story said on Monday.

A spokesman for the German prosecutor’s office conducting the investigation into Bosch said they are pursuing an investigation against “unnamed persons.” The U.S. Department of Justice is also investigating Bosch’s involvement.

Nine months ago, Bosch set aside of $678 million – 650 million euros – for possible legal costs.

The Bosch agreement comes on the heels of information indicating that VW is close to settling the other major portion of the Dieselgate scandal in America, the fate of 80,000 rigged V-6 3.0-liter Porsche, Audi and VW turbodiesel vehicles.

According to a Reuters report in November, the 3.0-liter portion of the deal is expected to include:

• A buyback offer for about 20,000 vehicles
• Fixes for the remaining 60,000

A hearing was to be held Monday in U.S. District Court, San Francisco dealing with the settlement. Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the case, regulators and Volkswagen have been working through the weekend to resolve remaining issues. A final deal was reported near. Indeed, Judge Charles Breyer said he was optimistic a resolution of the 3.0-liter issues would be completed by Tuesday.

According to news reports during the weekend, an outline of the possible final agreement includes an additional $200 million in migitation funds. The funds would be added to an already allocated fund of $2.5 billion, bring the amount to be paid over the next three years to $2.7 billion.

The precise cost of this portion of the settlement is still up in the air because it is not known how many buyers of the 20,000 vehicles covered will opt for the payments. Sources said that this could easily add another $1 billion to the $16.6 billion that the automaker has already agreed to pay in 2.0-liter turbodiesel buybacks (475,000 vehicles); dealer compensation; payments to states and clean energy infrastructure development payments as well as attorneys fees.