Volkswagen is once again showing its willingness to turn the page on “dieselgate”. On Thursday, the manufacturer and the German national federation of consumer associations, the VZBV, announced the launch of amicable negotiations for compensation to owners of VW.
The discussions are still only “at a preliminary stage”, specifies the VZBV. However, if they agree, monster trial “opened on September 30 to examine the first class action by German consumers against the manufacturer in the “Dieselgate” case.
Discussions at a preliminary stage
Almost half a million customers filed complaints in this first group action in German history. The judge must determine whether they are actually entitled to damages and whether the manufacturer is liable when the consumers have concluded a contract with the dealers.
In the event of victory over this principle, the owners of “rigged” Volkswagen should then assert their individual right. During these new procedures their vehicle continues to lose value, reducing the damage to be paid by Volkwagen. Until now, VW has been playing the watch by ensuring that the talks requested by the Brunswick judge were “hardly imaginable”.
A turning point for VW
The opening of negotiations therefore marks a turning point for the Wolfsburg firm, mired in the aftermath of the rigged engine affair revealed in September 2015 by the American administration. 2.3 billion fines have been paid in Germany so far, but thousands of individual proceedings are still pending. In total, the group has provisioned more than 30 billion euros for legal costs in the United States and elsewhere. Lawsuits are also underway against several group leaders of the twelve brands, from Volkswagen to Audi via Seat.