VW acknowledges that their 'DieselGate' resolution in Europe is primarily a sign of goodwill, as expressed by the company.
Volkswagen is facing a potential €100 billion in mass claims across Europe, as the Dieselgate emissions fixing scandal continues to unfold. Despite the fine imposed by German prosecutors, which ended criminal liabilities for the company, the controversy persists.
The High Court in the UK has ruled that Volkswagen's use of illegal devices in the Dieselgate scandal is a fact. This ruling comes as lawyers in the UK claim that the 'fix' delivered by VW is another 'cheat' device. In a similar vein, a court case in Spain awarded an owner of a car fitted with a defeat device €5,000 in compensation and fined Volkswagen's local subsidiaries.
In Germany, Volkswagen has been fined €1 billion (£880m) over its manipulation of emissions. The company, however, is claiming that the NOx, a pollutant emitted by their cars due to the defeat device, is harmless. This statement has drawn comparisons to a statement from a tobacco company in the 1960s. German expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, on the other hand, has labelled Volkswagen's developed 'fix' for the Dieselgate issue as merely a 'goodwill confession'.
Volkswagen is rejecting claims for compensation from governments and owners in the UK and Europe. The company is preparing for potential mass claims, but insists that its 'fix' is a 'Goodwill Gesture'. The German press reports Volkswagen's statement on NOx emissions as stating that a reliable determination of health issues or deaths caused by their level of NOx emissions is not possible from a scientific point of view.
A year after the Volkswagen Defeat Device scandal broke, Germany's KBA has ordered Volkswagen to recall all 8.5 million affected cars in Europe. In the USA, Volkswagen has compensated buyers, dealers, and governments to the tune of more than $16 billion.
As Volkswagen continues to navigate the complexities of the Dieselgate scandal, it remains to be seen how the situation will unfold in the coming months.
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