European legal systems do not favor consumers as much as those in the United States do. If Volkswagen is lucky, the total paid to car owners could turn out to be less than $10 billion. The carmaker is facing a lawsuit filed by the owner of three dealerships, seeking compensation for lost sales suffered by the more than 600 dealers in the United States. Volkswagen is also trying to quell a potential backlash by dealers in the United States. The settlement bars Volkswagen from simply exporting the cars, without fixes, to countries with less-stringent emissions standards.

Source: New York Times June 28, 2016 13:05 UTC