VW might have to shell out $5,000 to each American customer affected by its emissions scandal

Volkswagen and US government officials have agreed on a $5,000 per person payout for each customer that was affected by the Dieselgate scandal, Die Welt reports.

Die Welt also reports that the proposal is supposed to be shown to a judge in San Francisco, California on Thursday. This agreed settlement will allow VW to avoid the trial that was set to go forward this summer.

Cars included in the scandal were programmed so that when being tested for emissions, less nitrogen oxide would be released than if the car was actually being driven in normal road conditions.

In March, VW was given until April 21, 2016 to figure out a solution for the 600,000 cars affected.

The $5,000 per person payout would mean that in total, VW would have to shell out roughly $3 billion dollars just in customer compensation. There's no word on whether VW would also be recalling these cars in an effort to delete the cheat.

This is the first major step VW has taken since the scandal first came to light in September 2015. Nothing yet on if or how the German automaker might make it up to its dealers and employees impacted by the scandal.