Last December, lawyers for Volkswagen refused to concede that the software that lowers the amount nitrogen oxide emitted during emission tests installed in Volkswagon, Audi and Skoda cars violated Australian law. Different countries including US, China and others are currently investigating the giant carmaker.
The Australian Financial Review reported that Volkswagen, through their lawyers, claimed that the exhaust gas recirculation system used in these cars was technically not a "defeat device" prohibited by Australian emission rules. Ruth Higgins, a lawyer for Volkswagen, said that the system affected the operations of the car but did not generate nitrogen oxide above those permitted by law in testing.
As a result, Volkswagen is facing two separate class action suit filed by law firms Maurice Blackburn and Bannister Law. The class action suits seek compensation on behalf of 90,000 people who bought Volkswagen cars in Australia. It was noted that the carmaker had made an admission worldwide that their cars emitted more nitrogen oxide than is permissible under normal driving conditions but denied liability because the computer software did not fall under a technical description of a defeat device.
BBC reports that Volkswagen is being investigated by regulatory agencies in different parts of the world including United States, the United Kingdom, France, South Korea, Canada, Germany and, now, Australia. The giant carmaker is being accused of installing software that could detect when the car is being tested.It changes its performance to improve results.
A US Environmental Protection Agency finding covering 482,000 cars in the US said that "defeat devices" were fitted into these Volkswagen cars. It was found that when tested under normal road conditions, the engines emitted nitrogen oxide which is up to 40 times of what is allowed in the U.S.
According to The Wall Street Journal, several lawsuits have also been filed by consumers and dealers in different countries. Most recently, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil suit in the federal court in Detroit against Volkswagen AG on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency seeking sanctions that could amount to more than US$18 billion in penalties for installing alleged emission-cheating devices in its cars.
Michael Horn CEO of Volkswagen Group of America apologized publically on Monday. He said that they will set things right, while Martin Winterkorn, former CEO of Wolkswagen AG, states that the company has "broken the trust of our customers and the public" and resigned last September.
