U.S. consumers received $9.8 billion in Volkswagen diesel settlements: FTC

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said on Monday that buyers of polluting Volkswagen AG vehicles received more than $9.8 billion in settlements.

Volkswagen agreed to offer to buy back or repair more than 550,000 polluting diesel U.S. vehicles after it admitted in 2015 it used secret software to cheat emissions tests.

The FTC in its final report on the settlements said more than 86% of consumers completing claims chose to return their car through a buyback or early lease termination rather than get a repair.

Volkswagen paid more than $9.5 billion to U.S. consumers, while VW diesel supplier Robert Bosch [ROBG.UL] paid more than $300 million to U.S. consumers.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese)