It is a thorn in the side of the European Commission that the Volkswagen Group does not financially compensate the majority of European buyers of cars with cheated diesels. Volkswagen must take action, the EC says.
Volkswagen owes compensation to all European customers that it has sold a so-called cheating diesel, the European Commission and European consumer organizations have warned. Not only German victims, but also those in the Netherlands, for example. Now that the German car manufacturer is not moving, it is time to increase the pressure, the committee says.
Responsible European Commissioner Didier Reynders has written to Volkswagen again to complain about the lack of compensation. German customers did receive compensation, but Reynders still sees ‘no willingness to pay compensation to consumers in other EU member states. Volkswagen refuses to seek a solution for victims together with consumer organizations, while the judge has been clear about Volkswagen’s unfair treatment of customers,” said the European Commissioner. “If Volkswagen comes along now, the company can save its customers and itself years of lawsuits,” writes Reynders. He underlines that car buyers throughout the EU deserve equal and fair treatment.
For the time being, Volkswagen maintains that only people who lived in Germany when they bought their manipulated Volkswagen, Audi, Seat or Skoda are entitled to compensation. Several judges have now rejected that defense, Reynders argues. For example, the Amsterdam court ruled in July that Dutch customers can indeed claim compensation.
The cheating diesel scandal came to light in 2015. Volkswagen then admitted to having manipulated emissions tests on a large scale with software, making diesel cars appear cleaner than they were.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl