Brussels urges VW to compensate all EU 'Dieselgate' customers

Brussels connected Tuesday called connected Volkswagen to wage retired each European consumers—and not conscionable German ones—affected by the "Dieselgate" ungraded successful which the automaker tampered with conveyance emissions to cheat contamination tests.

EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said successful a connection that VW "is not consenting to enactment with user organisations to find due solutions for consumers," noting that it truthful acold is lone making payouts to German and US purchasers of its vehicles.

"All consumers request to beryllium compensated," Reynders said.

But a VW spokesperson curtly responded to the EU entreaty by saying: "Our ineligible presumption is unchanged."

In an interrogation with AFP, Reynders accused VW of "bad faith" by trying to exclude European customers extracurricular Germany from compensation by drafting retired ineligible processes.

"I deliberation it's up to america to fto European consumers cognize that a institution has chosen to tally retired the timepiece successful a bid to debar paying compensation adjacent arsenic convictions support piling up," helium said.

BEUC, an EU-wide user organisation, welcomed Brussels's stance. "Such a connection is agelong overdue," it said, calling it "another wide awesome that the tide is turning for Volkswagen".

The German car elephantine has already paid retired damages, refunds and tribunal fees of astir 32 cardinal euros ($37 billion) successful narration to the scandal.

Most has been disbursed successful the United States, whose courts and regulators vigorously took up the matter.

The institution has agreed to wage 750 cardinal euros to 235,000 car owners successful Germany.

But it is fending disconnected thousands of idiosyncratic and corporate claims lodged successful galore territories, including successful EU countries, which would greatly grow its fiscal vulnerability if they succeed.

VW said successful July it had won 95 percent of the cases against it, aft a tribunal successful Italy ordered the institution to wage 63,000 Italian customers a colony worthy much than 200 cardinal euros.

The situation deed Volkswagen successful 2015 erstwhile it was revealed it had installed devices successful 11 cardinal diesel vehicles worldwide that greatly trim nitrogen oxide emissions erstwhile subjected to contamination testing.

The institution admitted to the trickery and pleaded blameworthy to fraud successful the United States successful 2017.

'Political pressure'

The tampering ungraded has since ensnared different apical European automakers, including BMW, Porsche, Daimler, Renault, Peugeot and Fiat-Chrysler.

Last month, 4 erstwhile VW managers went connected proceedings successful Germany connected fraud charges related to "Dieselgate". The proceedings of erstwhile main enforcement Martin Winterkorn, 74, was divided disconnected into abstracted proceedings to commencement astatine a yet-to-be-announced day due to the fact that of sick health.

It was the 2nd important transgression proceedings successful narration to the scandal. Another, involving Rupert Stadler, the erstwhile brag of Volkswagen subsidiary Audi, began a twelvemonth agone and is inactive ongoing.

Judges are trying to nail down who successful the institution was alert of the emissions-cheating bundle utilized and who gave the greenish airy to the plan.

Reynders acknowledged to AFP that his entreaty to VW constituted nary much than "political pressure". But helium pointed retired the longer-term harm to its marque if it continues its strategy.

"The hazard Volkswagen runs successful this lawsuit successful reputational risk," helium said. "It's truly a spot question for consumers."

He suggested that VW gully a enactment nether the substance by extending pay-outs to each European customers who bought 1 of its altered diesel vehicles connected the ground of the mean compensation ordered by courts successful Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.

He said that that mean sum came successful astir 3,000 euros per vehicle. He declined to estimation what that would magnitude to crossed the EU for the automaker.

Reynders noted that the numbers of affected consumers included 150,000 successful the Netherlands, 400,000 successful Belgium and 900,000 successful France.

---

---

© 2021 AFP