"VW to Pay $1.2 Billion to U.S. Dealers Hurt by Diesel Scandal"

"Not that long ago, Volkswagen dealerships were among the hottest properties in the retail auto business.

The German brand was growing rapidly, and an ambitious goal of tripling sales in the United States to more than 800,000 cars a year seemed within reach, helped by increasingly popular diesel models and a new plant in Chattanooga, Tenn. With the future looking bright, buyers as recently as 2014 typically paid premiums of $3 million to $4 million to acquire Volkswagen franchises in the United States.

But the diesel scandal that erupted almost a year ago, setting off a plunge in Volkswagen sales, changed all that. Some dealers who tried to sell their franchises in the last year found their dealerships were worth little more than the value of the land they stood on and their inventory of cars and spare parts, according to brokers involved in dealership sales."

Neal E. Boudette reports for the New York Times August 25, 2016.