dieselgate

A 2010 Nissan Leaf Zero Emission is showcased at the Washington Auto Show in Washington, D.C. A British court case pointed to Mercedes, Ford, Peugeot/Citroen, Renault and Nissan as its named defendant as global car producers proclaim innocence in the emission test scandal. File Photo by Madeline Marshall/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 13 (UPI) — Europe’s years-long “dieselgate” scandal is set to begin court proceedings Monday in Britain’s high court that potentially could impact over one million car owners and a handful of manufacturers.

The landmark trial described as the largest class action lawsuit in English and Welsh history is the culmination in a decade-long legal battle over allegations at least five major car manufacturers utilized software that allowed new cars to reduce its emissions under testing conditions.

It pointed to Mercedes, Ford, Peugeot/Citroen, Renault and Nissan as its named defendants. But the global car producers proclaim innocence.

“A decade after the ‘dieselgate’ scandal first came to light, 1.6 million (British) motorists now get their chance to establish at trial whether their vehicles contained technology designed to cheat emissions tests,” attorney Martyn Day, part of 22 law firms representing drivers, told the BBC and the Independent.

Scores of other car makers — including Opel, Hyundai/Kia, Porsche, Volkswagon, BMW, Suzuki, Toyota, Volvo, Mazda and Jaguar Land Rover — may face similar action depending on outcome.

The “dieselgate” emissions scandal was exposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2015 following the revelation that a number of diesel-powered VW models contained deceptive emissions-monitoring devices.

On Monday, Day said if the court ruled on the side of consumers that it would “demonstrate one of the most egregious breaches of corporate trust in modern times.”

“It would also mean that people across (Britain) have been breathing in far more harmful emissions from these vehicles than they were told about, potentially putting the health of millions at risk,” Day added.

However, the companies have attempted to push back against allegations of wrongdoing.

A Mercedes spokesperson said its test mechanisms were “justifiable from a technical and legal standpoint,” while Ford stated the claims had “no merit.”

According to Nissan, it was “committed to compliance in all markets in which we operate.”

In May, a German court convicted four ex-Volkswagen officials of fraud years after “Dieselgate” got exposed.

Australia’s high court in 2019 fined Volkswagen a record $86 million in the emissions scandal.

It arrived as the British commonwealth nation preps to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by more than 60% by 2035 along with more than 100 other nations that agreed to reduce maritime emissions in opposition to U.S President Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, a judgment in Britain’s “dieselgate” case is not expected until sometime mid-next year. A later hearing to determine compensation could follow if Britain rules against the carmakers.

May 26 (UPI) — A German court convicted four former Volkswagen managers of fraud on Monday and a decade after “Dieselgate” exposed deceptive devices installed in many Volkswagen models to pass emissions tests.

Jens Hadler was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison and formerly was Volkswagen’s diesel engine development chief, the New York Times reported.

Hanno Jelden, a former VW engine electronics manager, received a sentence of two years and seven months in prison.

Defendants Heinz-Jakob Neusser, a former systems development manager, and a former emissions expert identified as “Thorsten D.,” received suspended sentences of 15 months and 22 months in prison, respectively.

A judicial panel in Braunschweig, Germany, entered its verdicts in the court that is located close to Volkswagen’s headquarters in nearby Wolfsburg.

Panel chairman Judge Christian Schutz called the defendants a “gang” and said they were guilty of “particularly serious” fraud, the New York Times reported.

He said Hadler knew of the emissions-testing defeat devices that manipulated software to ensure the vehicles would pass emissions tests since at least September 2007.

Only a relatively small number of people within Volkswagen knew of the device’s existence, according to emails used as evidence in the case.

The trial lasted almost four years in the “dieselgate” emissions scandal that was exposed when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2015 reported many diesel-powered VW models contained deceptive emissions-monitoring devices, Politico reported.

The “defeat devices” detected when system emissions testing was underway and automatically adjusted engine performance to ensure the respective vehicles met environmental standards.

Berlin’s Federal Court of Justice in 2020 ordered Volkswagen to pay up to $31,000 to each of about 60,000 German owners of diesel-powered VWs.

The automaker paid billions of dollars in settlements for installing defeat devices on about 10 million vehicles sold in the U.S., Germany and other markets around the globe.

Legal cases remain open against 31 other defendants, but former VW Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn is not among them due to health concerns, MarketWatch reported.

Winterkorn has denied any wrongdoing in the matter.