Il Dieselgate strike again Volkswagen. The German Federal Court of Justice has established that having purchased a diesel engine VW with the emission control unit tampered with gives the right to be reimbursed in part of the purchase price. The ruling will likely trigger a new wave of lawsuits against the German auto giant.
In detail, the judges ruled on the request of a customer who demanded full compensation for the purchase, but was only granted partial compensation because the (used) vehicle had lost value.
At the beginning of May, the Federal Court had opened up the possibility of compensation for damages for such cases and has now confirmed this approach, which will oblige Volkswagen to spend a lot more money to plug the Dieselgate wound.
At this point, anyone who has bought a Volkswagen car with a souped-up emissions control unit can return the vehicle to the manufacturer and claim compensation that takes into account the wear and tear of the vehicle.
The ruling will also be decisive as a precedent in the civil courts, where at the moment there are approx 60 thousand processes of this type against Volkswagen.
To date, VW has signed extrajudicial agreements with approx 235 thousand German customers for a total outlay equal to 750 million euro.
The Dieselgate scandal, which broke out in 2015, has cost the German car manufacturer so far over 30 billion between fines from the authorities (especially US) and compensation for damages.
Refund requests from motorists hit a sector that was not in good shape even before the outbreak of the pandemic and is now going through a phase of black crisis. In Germany, as in all of Europe, there is discussion about the possibility of granting car buyers a wave of state aid to protect production and jobs.
Despite the news from the Court, the Volkswagen stock is up 0,2%, at 133,04 euros per share.
