There has been a new development regarding Volkswagen’s low emissions issue, known as the “diesel scandal”, which broke out in 2015. The European Union said that the German-based automotive giant should provide compensation to consumers. It seems that the authorities, who cited “misdirection” as the reason, will deal another big blow to Volkswagen.
Admitting that it underestimated the emission values of the vehicles it launched, Volkswagen paid a large amount of compensation to the USA and Germany at that time. Not only that, the company also recalled 8.5 million diesel vehicles and made some adjustments. According to the statements made by the European Union officials, up to 80 percent of the vehicles involved in the emission scandal were corrected in this process.
EU’s consumer protection laws violated
In the statements made by the EU Commission, Didier Reynders, one of the leading names that ensure the protection of consumer rights in the EU, was reminded of the statement that “compensation should be paid to the consumer” last year. The Commission announced that the EU Consumer Protection Cooperation Network also published a statement today and once again voiced its claim for compensation. According to the EU Commission, Volkswagen violated laws that protect consumers in the EU with the scandal it was involved in.
In fact, Volkswagen had previously agreed to pay compensation for its customers in Germany. However, the EU Commission thinks that this should not be limited to Germany alone. Because although most of the 8.5 million vehicles were corrected, the company did not give any guarantee regarding the correction works. This means that consumers do not know what to expect. It seems that Volkswagen’s statements will lead to further deepening of the issue.