Volkswagen Settles Maryland Claims of Emissions Fraud With $33M Deal

Volkswagen reached a $33.5 million deal with the state of Maryland over claims that the auto manufacturer defrauded emissions regulators.

This week, the Maryland Attorney General’s office issued a press release about the settlement reached that will resolve litigation around accusations that Volkswagen, as well as its affiliates Porsche and Audi, used software to defraud emissions regulators, allowing their vehicles to perform to state-wide established emissions regulations during testing but produce radically higher levels of pollutants when driven normally.

According to the terms of the VW class action settlement, Volkswagen, Porsche, and Audi will pay a $29 million civil penalty, use one of their Maryland-based port facility to support Volkswagen’s East Coast operations in order to provide a $4.5 million benefit to Maryland’s economy, and increase the availability of zero emission vehicles in Maryland.

Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh said in a statement that he hopes the $33.5 million deal “send[s] a clear message to auto manufacturers that violating laws designed to protect our environment and the health of our citizens is unacceptable and will result in harsh penalties.”

Allegedly, Volkswagen installed software in vehicles produced between 2009 and 2015 that allowed the vehicles to perform while producing emissions below legal levels while they were being tested for adherence to legal standards, but then perform at another level, producing radially higher emissions, while the vehicles were being driven normally by consumers.

Allegedly, the vehicles produced up to 40 times the legal level of pollutant emissions when being driven normally. This practice reportedly released large amounts of nitrogen oxide into the air, endangering people and the environment. Nitrogen oxide has been linked to respiratory disease, and is known to be a substantial source of nutrient pollution in the Chesapeake bay and its tributary waterways.

The Attorney General’s press release goes on to state that the software was installed in diesel engines in more than a dozen car models, including Audi luxury sedans, and high-performance Porsche SUVs.

Previous litigation over the emissions software has claimed that low-emissions vehicles are marketed to consumers as a happy medium between the increased power of a diesel engine, and the lower emissions of a gasoline engine.

Many consumers allegedly purchased the low-emissions diesel cars because of their advertised environmental friendliness, and car manufacturers who used the software were allegedly unjustly enriched by consumers’ purchases of the vehicles. 

Reportedly, many consumers would not have purchased the vehicles had they known that the cars produced radically higher emissions than advertised.

This deal with Maryland is preceded by deals that Volkswagen made last year with 10 other states who adhere to strict emissions standards under Section 177 of the “Clean Air Act.” Those states include Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. To date, Volkswagen has paid around $157.45 million in penalties.

The Volkswagen, Audi emissions cheating class action settlement is still accepting consumer claims. 

Recently, other auto makers including BMW have come under fire for the same alleged violations to environmental regulations, facing class action litigation around the country.

Maryland is represented by its Office of the Attorney General.

The Volkswagen Emissions Fraud Settlement is Maryland Department of the Environment v. Volkswagen AG, Case No. 24-C-16-004114, in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City.

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