What is the emissions scandal? We have come to understand it as “dieselgate”, but where did it start, and what is the law surrounding the scandal?
The emissions scandal first hit papers in September 2015 in the US. German car giant, Volkswagen, was issued a notice by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of violation of the US Clean Air Act.
The EPA had found that Volkswagen had intentionally programmed many of their diesel engines to activate emissions controls only when being tested in labs. This caused their NOx emissions to be much lower than real-world settings, but emit up to 40 times more dangerous NOx in normal, everyday use.
Many countries then investigated Volkswagen and found the same issues. Their group CEO, Martin Winterkorn, resigned, and their stock price fell in value by a third.
Dieselgate Hits the UK
“Dieselgate”, as it is now known, then spread across the Atlantic to Europe and the UK. Volkswagen admitted that 1.2 million of its affected vehicles were sold in the UK. These were fitted with the “defeat device” and had been present since 2009. Some cars had been roaming British streets for 6 years at this point.
Also included within these 1.2 million vehicles were cars within the VW brand - Audi, Seat, and Skoda, as well as VW commercial vehicles.
Now, as VW is still battling claims and has since paid out £26bn worldwide in compensation and fines, many more manufacturers are coming to light.
Massive car companies like Mercedes, Ford, BMW, Vauxhall, Nissan, and Renault are all being caught up in Dieselgate, and many more are being investigated. All of these car companies will have sold affected vehicles in the UK.
From European Commission reports on Dieselgate, emissions.co.uk believe that nearly all of the major car manufacturers have had a similar cheat device installed in their cars at some point. We are fighting those who have lied to you about their emissions, and can look to bring a claim for compensation against the car manufacturers.
What is the law surrounding emissions claims?
Before any vehicle is sold in the EU, car manufacturers must apply for something known as “type approval”. As noted on the European Commission website:
Type approval describes the process applied by national authorities to certify that a model of a vehicle meets all EU safety, environmental and conformity of production requirements before authorising it to be placed on the EU market.
When approval is granted, manufacturers issue something called a “certificate of conformity”. This states that each vehicle meets the regulated emissions standards and – vitally – that the vehicles do not contain any “defeat devices” which are completely banned. Please see EC Regulation 715/2007 for more information.
It is worth bearing in mind that Brexit will have no effect on this, due to the fact that most of these claims relate to vehicles brought before January 1st 2021. In addition to this, similar rules have been drawn up post-Brexit.
On top of this EU regulation breach, there is also a claim for the individual to make up losses on residual values, breach of contract, and unfair trading regulations related to finance agreements that were purchased before the dieselgate scandal came to life.
Are car manufacturers still denying claims?
The car manufacturers that have been embroiled in the scandal are still doing their best to deny all claims and fight each lawsuit. Settlements in USA, Australia, Canada and Germany show, however, that there is a legitimate claim for compensation for UK residents.
In the well-document VW case, the UK High Court ruled against the car manufacturer in April 2020, siding with UK drivers. VW then appealed the ruling, but had their appeal rejected by the Court of Appeal.
It was this landmark ruling that has given the green light to what could become a massive win for all UK motorists who are looking to claim against their car manufacturer.
Why Should I Claim?
This is a question the panel at emissions.co.uk often get – what’s the point in claiming? Well, there are actually a number of reasons to lodge a claim.
Your Health
The pollutant that the car manufacturers lied about is deadly. NOx has been linked to multiple diseases, including childhood asthma, cancer, poor foetal development, and depression. Reports suggest that air pollution, which is primarily caused by NOx, is estimated to cause 40,000 premature deaths in the UK each year.
Your Pocket
Clients who have been affected may have suffered damages because of it. If you have a valid claim you may be able to make a claim for compensation. In addition to this, Autocar tests have shown that the cars do have a worse fuel economy after the fix.
Their Accountability
It is now unmistakable that car manufacturers have put profit before your health, and have lied in the process. Making a claim against huge corporations shows that they are not too powerful to face the consequences of their actions. They are not allowed to cheat the regulations that are there to keep us safe, and we need to remind them of that.
Our Environment
NOx isn’t only dangerous to our health, but also to our environment. The pollutant produces acid rain, smog, and can contribute to climate change. It can also reduce the nutritional quality of crops including wheat, rice and soya bean. It is vitally important we protect the environment by having as little NOx in our air as possible.
Start Your Diesel Emission Claim Today
Are you ready to claim against your car manufacturer for their lies on emissions? If you believe you have an emissions compensation claim, let us handle it from start to finish.
Our dieselgate solicitors are able to bring a claim on your behalf and not only hold massive car companies to account, but also get you compensation while doing so.
At Emissions.co.uk we make claiming for compensation easy: