German chancellor Angela Merkel has now become embroiled in the developing Volkswagen emissions scandal – being accused of knowing about the issue.
The German Green Party said ministers knew months ago about Volkswagen rigging emissions tests but that ‘tricks and deceits’ were ‘accepted with a wink’.
It has yet to be confirmed, but has been assumed, that the cheat device found on 2.0-litre diesels in America, is on vehicles in Europe and further abroad.
VW cheif executive Martin Winterkorn resigned yesterday, with Volkswagen shares bouncing back 7.3% on the news. Since the news broke, however, 26 million Euro have been wiped of the company’s value.
The Green Party’s claim centres on a written answer given by the German transport ministry on July 28 to a question from the Greens about so-called ‘defeat devices’.
The ministry wrote that it shared the view of the European Commission ‘that there is no extensively proven means of preventing defeat devices’.
A forum of German environmental businesses backed the allegation that the Merkel government knew what was going on.
Transport minister Alexander Dobrindt denied that the government had failed to properly monitor the motor industry for irregularities.
He said: ‘Again and again we conduct testing. If there are irregularities, we discuss them immediately with the auto manufacturer according to the rules.’
Class actions likely
Meanwhile in some markets, law firms are rushing to jump on a train of class action cases being formed against the manufacturer.
In the United Kingdom, Jacqueline Young, of lawyers Slater and Gordon, told The Daily Mail: ‘If UK cars are found to contain defeat devices, this would give rise to a claim by car owners and car dealerships who bought VW vehicles on the basis of false information and whose asset has now devalued.
‘The problem might not be limited to Volkswagen, but rather may be endemic across the car industry. This could potentially give rise to a legal action the like of which this country has never seen.’
In the United States, where the scandal began, multiple class actions have already begun.
Join the conversation