Australia’s consumer watchdog yesterday launched court action against Volkswagen AG over a massive emissions cheating scandal, saying the German car giant had engaged in “extraordinary conduct” as it sought millions of dollars in fines.
The troubled automaker, which owns brands ranging from luxury Audi to lower-end Skoda, is battling its biggest-ever crisis after admitting a year ago to a massive emissions cheating scandal affecting 11 million diesel engines.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said Volkswagen and its Australian subsidiary “engaged in conduct liable to mislead the public in relation to diesel vehicle emission claims” between 2011 and last year.
Photo: Reuters
Volkswagen in October last year said that more than 91,000 of its vehicles in Australia were fitted with emissions-cheating technology.
MULTIPLE BREACHES
An ACCC spokeswoman said it was seeking fines on emission claims.
The ACCC alleged multiple breaches of Australian consumer law, with each one attracting a fine of up to A$1.1 million (US$830,000) if the case succeeds in court.
“The ACCC alleges that Volkswagen engaged in multiple breaches of the Australian consumer law by concealing software in their vehicles to cheat emissions testing and misleading consumers about the vehicle’s compliance with standards and emission levels during on-road conditions,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said in a statement.
‘MISLEADING THE PUBLIC’
In legal proceedings lodged yesterday in the Federal Court of Australia, it was alleged that more than 57,000 vehicles sold in Australia over the five-year period did not operate as Volkswagen advertised.
“These allegations involve extraordinary conduct of a serious and deliberate nature by a global corporation and its Australian subsidiary misleading consumers and the Australian public,” it said.
The car giant last week reached an undisclosed settlement to compensate US dealers over losses from the diesel-cheating scandal, which has been dubbed “dieselgate.”
In the UK, a parliamentary committee said the British government must set strict timelines for Volkswagen to recall tainted diesel vehicles and compensate their owners, adding Europe’s second-largest auto market to the list of countries demanding a definitive resolution from the German carmaker.
Volkswagen is “only just beginning to recall cars in the UK,” where about 1.1 million vehicles were found to contain software that rigged emissions tests, the British parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee said in a report yesterday.
It criticized the UK Department for Transport, Serious Fraud Office and Competition and Market Authority for failing to decide on penalties against the German carmaker almost a year since the scandal was exposed.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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