Emissions scandal: VW ordered to buy back test-beating cars

German courts have ordered Volkswagen to cough up for misleading cars.

Thousands of motorists in the UK and overseas were misled when purchasing vehicles a few years ago, as a result of manufacturers fiddling the emissions tests.

Vehicle makers fitted their cars and vans with dodgy software which delivered inaccurate results of these tests, meaning that certain vehicles were presented as being far more environmentally friendly than was actually the case.

And that deception is now catching up with them, with one of the biggest cheating manufacturers ordered to buy back these vehicles, providing conned drivers with the prospect of at least getting some of their money back.

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Time to pay up

German courts have told Volkswagen that the firm needs to buy back all of the motors it sold with these misleading bits of kit fitted, after it was pursued legally by Herbert Gilbert, who purchased a Volkswagen Sharan in 2014.

The manufacturer won’t have to hand over a full refund though ‒ the court said that it would have to offer payments to affected motorists accounting for depreciation.

In other words, they will get what the vehicle is worth now ‒ in the knowledge that it boasts less impressive emission levels than was initially advertised ‒ rather than what the duped drivers paid initially.

There are currently a whopping 60,000 pending cases in Germany alone.

In a statement, Volkswagen said: “For the majority of the 60,000 pending cases, this ruling provides clarity as to how the [Federal Court of Justice] assesses essential questions in German diesel proceedings.

"Volkswagen is now seeking to bring these proceedings to a prompt conclusion in agreement with the plaintiffs. We will, therefore, approach the plaintiffs with the adequate settlement proposals."

It’s not the first time VW has faced a massive bill from German drivers either, having already settled a separate class action suit involving 235,000 motorists. In that case, it ended up costing the firm a cool £743 million.

What does this mean for British drivers?

Now obviously, it’s worth pointing out that German courts and their rulings do not directly affect us in the UK. 

But it will add weight to the cases of the thousands of British motorists who are already considering or actively pursuing claims of their own against the manufacturer. 

For example, a group of around 90,000 affected drivers won the first stage of their High Court battle against the various manufacturers tied up in the ‘dieselgate’ scandal. That means the likes of Audi, Seat and Skoda, as well as VW.

Mr Justice Waksman was damning in finding against VW in that hearing, dismissing the claims that ‘defeat devices’ ‒ which beat the emissions tests ‒ had not been fitted as ““completely irrelevant”, “hopeless” and “highly flawed”.

While this is far from the end of matters, it will increase pressure on VW ‒ and other manufacturers ‒ to do the right thing and compensate drivers it conned.

Patrick McGuire, a partner at Thompsons Solicitors which is leading its own case against VW in the Scottish courts, has predicted that, at a conservative estimate, he expects to secure several millions in compensation for his clients.

He said: "There is now no longer any excuse for VW and their highly paid legal defence team to deny justice to the thousands of Scottish consumers they have deceived and defrauded."

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Why emissions matter

It should go without saying that a vehicle’s emission levels are important for drivers to consider, given the impact on the environment from driving.

The growing number of sales of electric vehicles are in large part down to the fact that they are better for the planet ‒ drivers are well aware of how their actions can impact the environment, and so are more inclined to pick motors that can deliver lower emissions levels.

But there’s a further financial consideration too in the form of vehicle excise duty. The figure you pay in the first year of ownership is directly tied to the car’s emission levels.

While those with the smallest emission levels will pay only £25  or less, the big emitters are far more costly to own, in some cases costing an almighty £2,175 for that first year.

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