VW loses Italy class action over 'dieselgate': group

A Venice court has ordered Volkswagen to compensate over 63,000 Italian customers over the "Dieselgate" emissions cheating scandal in a settlement worth more than 200 million euros (US$237 million), a consumers' association announced.

In a statement late on Wednesday, the Altroconsumo group said it had secured a "historic" victory in its class action lawsuit against the German car giant.

The court ruled that "3,300 euros (plus interest) will go to each of the more than 63,000 consumers who joined our class action" after buying models involved in the scandal, it said.

Revelations in 2015 that VW had installed devices in 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide to falsify pollution tests plunged the company into a crisis.

The scandal has cost it more than 32 billion euros in fines, legal costs and compensation and has since ensnared many more of Europe's top automakers.