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VW on the hook in Europe?

September 5, 2016

Volkswagen wronged European consumers when it rigged its diesel engines to emit more toxic gases than allowed and then lied about it in the company's advertising, an EU commissioner has told German media.

https://p.dw.com/p/1Jvoc
Wolfsburg LOGO VW Konzern
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Jensen

The German automaker, already on the hook in the United States for widespread emissions cheating, could also face a steep bill in Europe if EU member states decide it broke consumer protection and honest trading rules, a German newspaper reported on Monday.

The EU's justice and consumer protection commissioner, Vera Jourova, told the daily Die Welt said she believed Volkswagen could be hit with fines and compensation claims similar to the ones the company faces in the US.

So far, Volkswagen has refused to pay damages to car owners in Europe, insisting that a different legal environment protected it from any such obligation. In the US, VW has agreed to shell out around $16.5 billion (14.8 billion euros) to compensate nearly half a million people who thought the 2-liter engine cars they had purchased were more environmentally friendly.

Observers have noted that paying out even a fraction of what Volkswagen agreed to pay its US customers would quickly drain its budget for cleaning up its "Dieselgate" scandal, in which the car maker installed malicious software into its diesel vehicles to thwart regulatory tests.

Jourova said was coordinating an EU-level response and had invited consumer rights advocates to Brussels.

cjc/pad (AFP, Reuters)