German Court Questions VW Diesel Payouts
German drivers of Volkswagen Group vehicles whose diesels were rigged to evade emission standards may not be entitled to damages after all, a judge in Brunswick suggests.
#legal
German drivers of Volkswagen Group vehicles whose diesels were rigged to evade emission standards may not be entitled to damages after all, a judge in Brunswick suggests.

The central question, says Judge Michael Neef, is whether owners suffered any loss of value because of the cheating. He points out that affected customers have continued to drive their vehicle for four years after the scandal arose, Reuters reports.
Neef says a three-judge panel will further discuss compensation during a hearing on Nov. 18. Reuters notes that several other courts in Germany have approved payments. VW continues to argue that no compensation is warranted because the tainted vehicles continued to be driven.
VW Group has spent some €30 billion ($33 billion) to date on fines, environmental restitution, software and hardware updates, owner payments and vehicle buybacks—mostly in the U.S.—after admitting in 2015 that it rigged 11 million diesels worldwide with so-called defeat devices.
RELATED CONTENT
-
On Military Trucks, Euro Car Sales, Mazda Drops and More
Did you know Mack is making military dump trucks from commercial vehicles or that Ford tied with Daimler in Euro vehicle sales or the Mazda6 is soon to be a thing of the past or Alexa can be more readily integrated or about Honda’s new EV strategy? All that and more are found here.
-
On Ford Maverick, Toyota Tundra Hybrid, and GM's Factory Footprint
GM is transforming its approach to the auto market—and its factories. Ford builds a small truck for the urban market. Toyota builds a full-size pickup and uses a hybrid instead of a diesel. And Faurecia thinks that hydrogen is where the industry is going.
-
Honda to Make Hybrids in Thailand
Honda Motor Co. is preparing to launch production in Thailand of hybrid cars and the batteries that help power them.