In connection with the diesel scandal, the Volkswagen car concern paid consultants and lawyers 1.77 billion euros. This was announced on Sunday, June 16, by the Handelsblatt publication, and later this data was confirmed by a company representative. This includes consultants and attorneys for all brands, including Audi and Porsche, and in all markets.
This amount is expected to increase as lawsuits over the exhaust scandal are pending. One of the largest legal contractors for Volkswagen is the American firm Jones Day, which has been representing the interests of the concern in the United States since September 2015.
Volkswagen's profits have declined this year. In the first quarter, the group earned 3.05 billion euros, compared with 3.3 billion euros a year earlier. In particular, the company's accounts for the dieselgate lawsuits contributed to the decline in income.
Earlier, the head of the Federal Association of Consumer Rights Protection Centers (VZBV) Klaus Müller said that 420,000 people have already joined the class action lawsuit against Volkswagen in Germany. The association proposes to the automobile concern to settle disputes amicably.
Recall that an investigation in the United States established: Volkswagen in 2006 began developing a new diesel engine, which must meet the stringent environmental requirements that entered into force in the United States in 2007. The top management of the auto concern announced the production of a "clean diesel", but during the development it became clear that this was impossible.
In the end, Volkswagen engineers created software that recognized the operating mode of the car: test for the time of checking compliance with environmental standards or real for the duration of use on the road. Depending on this, the emission control system was automatically adjusted. At the time of qualification, the cars met US standards, but in fact, the emissions could exceed them 40 times. The consequences of dieselgate have affected almost everyone who bought diesel cars from Volkswagen.
