Some of the world’s biggest carmakers are facing a pivotal trial at London’s High Court on Monday, as lawyers representing 1.6 million claimants accuse them of cheating diesel emissions tests—nearly a decade after Volkswagen’s infamous “dieselgate” scandal.
In one of the largest mass lawsuits in English legal history, owners of diesel vehicles made by Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Nissan, Renault, and the Stellantis-owned brands Peugeot and Citroën allege the companies used unlawful “defeat devices.”
These devices allegedly detected when vehicles were undergoing emissions testing, ensuring pollutants stayed within legal limits—but failed to do so during normal driving, according to the claimants’ lawyers.
The manufacturers, however, insist the claims are fundamentally flawed and reject comparisons to the 2015 Volkswagen scandal, which cost the German automaker billions of euros in fines and compensation. Mercedes-Benz maintains that its emission control systems were “legally and technically justified.”
‘Defeat Devices’ Trial Begins
The High Court trial will examine a sample of diesel models from the five manufacturers, who together face nearly 850,000 claimants. The court will determine whether the vehicles used prohibited defeat devices. If so, the question of damages will be decided at a subsequent trial next year.
The ruling will also affect hundreds of thousands of similar claims against other automakers, including Stellantis-owned Vauxhall/Opel and BMW.
Martyn Day, one of the claimants’ lawyers from the firm Leigh Day, said that if the allegations are proven, “it would demonstrate one of the most egregious breaches of corporate trust in modern times.”
When Volkswagen admitted to using defeat devices in 2015, it was forced to pay more than €32 billion ($37 billion) in vehicle refits, fines, and legal costs. Former CEO Martin Winterkorn faced criminal charges, though his trial was suspended on health grounds earlier this month.
Global Fallout and Legal Precedents
This is not the first time London’s High Court has heard a defeat device case—it ruled against Volkswagen in 2020. VW later settled those claims without admitting liability in 2022.
The current group of lawsuits—against a total of 14 manufacturers—is far larger than the VW case, with claimants’ lawyers valuing the litigation at around £6 billion ($7.97 billion).
Automakers face similar lawsuits worldwide. In July, a Dutch court ruled that diesel cars sold by Stellantis brands Opel, Peugeot-Citroën, and DS contained defeat devices—a decision Stellantis has disputed.
Manufacturers and suppliers have also paid fines and reached settlements in the United States and elsewhere to resolve diesel emissions investigations.
Reuters
