Dieselgate in Italy
Six years after the start of the famous Dieselgate affair, therefore respecting the times of Italian justice, the first sentence from the Court of Venice (as Volkswagen Italia resides in Veneto) has arrived. Despite the economic weight and the legal endowment of the German group, the judges agreed with Altroconsumo who already defines the result as David's victory against Goliath. But this is a temporary victory, as we are speaking at first instance and as Volkswagen will appeal as soon as possible.The VW group commented on the ruling defining the entire class action as groundless and inadmissible. For users, there would be no negative consequences from Dieselgate as all vehicles covered by the matter remain safe for driving on the road. In addition, Volkswagen makes it known that the “scandal” models have not lost any value in Italy, so the economic damage suffered would be non-existent. Last but not least, the procedures for the appeal have already begun.
Looking at the defense, the press releases of the German company are founded on the economic side since the whole Dieselgate issue has above all ethical bases. The scam towards emissions tests had the sole purpose of achieving homologation, without consequences for users. And it's hard to think that the more than 60,000 signatories of the class action are all environmental defenders of the planet. As always, the prospect of an economic reimbursement at almost zero cost has been a decisive push to participate.
However you see the whole issue, the sentence of the past few days is clear: Volkswagen will have to reimburse 3,300 Euros (plus interests) to each owner of the offending models. In all, an outlay of around 200 million euros is estimated and it is therefore natural that the German company does everything to defend itself.
Meanwhile, Altroconsumo has already taken steps to find a solution (currently excluded) for those who have not joined the class action. Other indemnities could arrive later, but on this point it will be the consumers' association itself that will provide information.
From dieselgate to electric mobility, with the necessary delays. Corrado Clini's book (former Minister of the Environment) explains everything.
Volkswagen to appeal Italian court decision on class action over Dieselgate
© Reuters/Francois Lenoir FILE PHOTO: The logo of German carmaker Volkswagen is seen on a rim cap in a showroom of a Volkswagen car dealer in BrusselsMILAN (Reuters) - Volkswagen said on Thursday it would appeal against a decision by an Italian court ordering the German group to refund consumers participating in a class action lawsuit over the carmaker's rigging of diesel emissions tests.
Italian consumer group Altroconsumo said a court ordered Volkswagen to pay 3,300 euros ($3,900), plus interest, to each of the more than 63,000 consumers who joined the class action, for a total amount of over 200 million euros ($236 million).
Altroconsumo said Volkswagen was found liable for an unfair commercial practice after installing banned software on EA189 engines in order to lower NOx (nitrogen oxide) emissions during tests.
A spokesperson for Volkswagen said the German automaker considered Altroconsumo's class action inadmissible and that its allegations were without merit.
'Volkswagen will seek to have the judgement overturned by the second instance court in Venice', the spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement.
'Class members have not suffered any economic loss because of the NOx issue since all vehicles are technically safe and roadworthy, and no loss in their trade value resulted in the Italian market because of the NOx issue', the person added.
Altroconsumo started legal action against Volkswagen in 2017, together with its sister organisations in Belgium (Test Aankoop/Test Achats), Spain (OCU) and Portugal (Deco), as part of a Euroconsumers coordinated class action.
(Reporting by Elisa Anzolin in Milan and Christoph Steitz in Frankfurt; Editing by Mark Potter)