In addition to receiving compensation from Volkswagen, owners of 2.0-liter and 3.0-liter VW, Audi and Porsche TDI models will also receive money from a company they may never have heard of. The same day that Volkswagen and attorneys for VW owner groups announced the details of a buyback, repair and compensation plan for the larger 3.0-liter diesel models, the automotive supplier giant Bosch announced a settlement with class action plaintiffs over the diesel issue totalling $327.5 million -- but without actually admitting whether it did anything at all.

"By entering into the settlement, Bosch neither acknowledges the facts as alleged by the plaintiffs nor does Bosch accept any liability," the company said in a statement.

These "facts as alleged" are claims that were made by class action plaintiffs back in 2015, in the early weeks of the diesel crisis. Lawyers for the plaintiffs argued Bosch helped to create the software used by the defeat devices in 2.0-liter and 3.0-liter diesel vehicles, software which detected when vehicles were being tested for emissions and adjusted their pollutant outputs accordingly. The class action plaintiffs made the argument that Bosch was a "knowing and active participant in the scheme."

Its role in Volkswagen's emissions-cheating efforts still obscured, Bosch will nevertheless devote $163.3 million of the total amount to compensating 2.0-liter TDI owners, and $113.3 million compensating 3.0-liter diesel owners. Under the settlement, most 2.0-liter owners can expect to receive $350 each, while 3.0-liter owners will receive about $1,500.

As late as August 2016 Bosch had pushed back against these claims as "unfounded," even though the company's CEO ordered an internal investigation into the company's possible role the day after the EPA went public with its knowledge of defeat devices in VW vehicles. Sometime between August 2016 and this week the company's appraisal of the plaintiffs' claims apparently changed.

"Upon careful consideration of all relevant aspects, we have in this case decided to enter into a settlement agreement," said Dr. Volkmar Denner, Chairman of the Management Board of the supplier. "Bosch is currently undergoing the biggest transformation process in its company history. We wish to devote our attention and our resources to the transition in mobility and in other areas of activity."

Bosch expects the federal court overseeing the VW 2.0-liter and 3.0-liter diesel settlement to grant preliminary approval to the settlement later this month, with final approval expected in May 2017. That month Bosch is also expected to make some disclosures regarding what it actually did or did not do in relation to Volkswagen's emissions-cheating efforts. But it won't be out of the woods even at that point; the company expects to defend other civil and criminal claims against itself in Germany and the U.S. for some time.

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