Judge Approves Biggest Auto Industry Settlement Ever

A $14.7 billion settlement deal from Volkswagen revolving around its emissions scandal was hammered out in June, and Tuesday that deal was confirmed by a federal judge in San Francisco, making it the largest civil settlement involving the auto industry of all time, Reuters reports. Per the AP, 475,000 owners of VW or Audi models with 2-liter four-cylinder diesel engines will be able to start setting up buybacks of their vehicles next week (a VW spokeswoman tells Reuters the buybacks will begin in mid-November). Just over $10 billion has been allotted to pay for the buybacks (based on trade-in value) and for additional compensation that will range between $5,100 and $10,000 for each owner. Another $4.7 billion will go toward emissions-reducing projects and other clean-vehicle initiatives. (More Volkswagen stories.)