2023-06-26 15:37:52
Owners of cars with diesel engines equipped with unauthorized but widespread exhaust gas control software are entitled to conditionally seek compensation from the manufacturer, a German court ruled for the first time on Monday 26 June.
This decision concerns unauthorized software known as “thermal window”a device distinct from that which had led to the worldwide scandal of Dieselgate.
Compensation
The judgment of the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) is expected to trigger a wave of compensation claims from car manufacturers. “The vehicle manufacturer must prove that, when issuing the certificate of conformity, it was neither intentional nor the result of negligence that the motor vehicle did not comply with the requirements of Union law (European )”the court said.
German courts had so far refused to compensate consumers, arguing that this was not intentional damage inflicted on car buyers, but at most negligence on the part of manufacturers.
Last March, the European Court of Justice (CJEU), however, ruled in favor of motorists, finding that negligence is now sufficient for a claim for damages. According to the CJEU, it was up to the German courts to calculate the amount of compensation. In its decision on Monday, the Federal Court limited this amount to a range between 5 and 15% of the purchase price of the vehicle.
Check gas purification
The device of “thermal windows” makes it possible to control the purification of exhaust gases from diesel vehicles according to the outside temperature. The nitrogen oxide (NOx) filtration system is reduced or deactivated when temperatures are below 15 degrees and above 33 degrees. Automakers have always argued that this was a necessity to protect the engine.
On the contrary, environmental organizations see this software as a workaround intended to make pollutant emissions appear lower in test conditions than they are in real road traffic.
Several million consumers
In a statement on Monday, the German manufacturer Mercedes, also involved in multiple lawsuits, denied any negligent breach, retorting that, until the CJEU’s decision, European authorities generally considered that these thermal windows “were allowed”.
The decision should benefit “several million consumers in Europe”according to consumer lawyer Clause Goldenstein, who represents 50,000 plaintiffs in similar cases.
In the Dieselgate rigged engine scandal, Volkswagen admitted to tampering with 11 million cars to display lower levels of nitrogen oxide emissions than reality.
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