Despite the fact that Volkwagen AG has agreed to pay a record $15 billion to Uncle Sam to settle its emission scandal here, CEO Mathias Muller says Volkswagon will not pay equal compensation to Europeans who bought the faked diesel cars, according to the Wall Street Journal. To boot, he says the reason is because U.S. emission standards are tougher and make it harder to repair the cars to make them compliant than European laws.
The European Union Industry leaders are outraged, saying that Volkwagon should provide European car owners with compensation that is comparable to what it is paying U.S. customers and that the fact that the U.S. has stronger environmental laws is irrelevant.
Investors are warily watching the European morass to see if it weighs down Volkswagon stock for significant periods and whether new lawsuits are brought against the company in Europe.
Jeffrey Newman represents whistleblowers.
