Dieselgate carmakers win most UK High Court claims

The High Court in London has ruled largely in favour of five major carmakers accused of using devices in diesel vehicles to circumvent clean-air rules, in the latest stage of the dieselgate litigation.

Justice Sara Cockerill said the court rejected most of the principal allegations against the manufacturers whose vehicles were examined. Mercedes, Ford, Peugeot-Citroen, Renault and Nissan had denied that their systems were designed to circumvent nitrogen oxides emissions tests.

The carmakers will still face a second trial in October to determine damages. Cockerill said the court had made adverse findings over some specific strategies, including a coolant device in Mercedes cars and a strategy used in some Peugeot-Citroen vehicles.

The case centred on whether a sample of 20 cars made by the five carmakers contained prohibited defeat devices that reduced the effectiveness of emissions-control systems outside regulatory testing conditions.

Claims in the initial trial were brought on behalf of 1.6 million motorists against 14 carmakers, including Jaguar Land Rover, Toyota, Vauxhall-Opel and BMW as well as the five examined in the latest trial.

Mercedes welcomed the ruling, saying the court had ruled very largely in its favour. Ford said the decision showed it did not use prohibited defeat devices in its vehicles. Renault Group said it would seek to recover legal costs from the insurers and hedge funds that backed the claims.

Martyn Day, a lawyer at Leigh Day representing the claimants, said his clients were considering whether to seek permission to appeal.

The wider dieselgate scandal began in 2015, when Volkswagen admitted fitting millions of vehicles with software that made engines appear less polluting in regulatory tests than in real driving conditions. Volkswagen has paid more than 32 billion euros, or $36.5 billion, in penalties, mostly in the United States.