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EU demands Volkswagen pay EU Dieselgate victims

September 28, 2021

The EU's Justice Commissioner called on Volkswagen to pay out to all EU consumers affected by Dieselgate. The EU also accused Volkswagen of being unwilling to work with consumer groups.

https://p.dw.com/p/40yg3
The Volkswagen logo
The 'Dieselgate' scandal goes on as the EU demands payouts to European consumers who purchased Volkswagen vehicles outfitted with a defeat device to cheat emissions testsImage: picture alliance/dpa/F. von Erichsen

EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders called on Volkwagen to make payments to all EU consumers caught in the "Dieselgate" scandal in comments on Tuesday.

EU consumers who purchased Volkswagen vehicles with defeat devices to cheat emissions tests are owed payments just as American and German consumers, Reynders said.

On Twitter, Reynders wrote, "All EU consumers must be treated fairly and the same way." 

What is 'Dieselgate'?

In a statement, the EU Commission noted Volkswagen had sold 8.5 million vehicles in the EU that had been outfitted with a defeat device to cheat emissions tests through 2015.

For years, Volkswagen had marketed its diesel vehicles as clean when they were in fact massive polluters. Consumers who bought into the notion of green technology in their vehicles were betrayed by the manufacturer who had sold them a dirty polluter.

Following scandals with US regulators and indictments of senior executive at Volkswagen over the defeat device in the US, the European Court of Justice ruled Volkswagen's actions were likewise illegal in December 2020.

Now it is time to pay EU consumers, Brussels said.

ar/aw (AFP, dpa)