Five automakers on trial for emissions fraud

A major trial against five major carmakers accused of cheating on emissions tests is set to begin at the High Court on Monday.

The trial is the latest chapter in what has become known as the “dieselgate” scandal, in which companies are accused of using software to allow their cars to reduce emissions of harmful gases under testing conditions.

Lawyers say it is the largest class action in English and Welsh legal history and could ultimately involve 1.6 million car owners.

The five automakers – Mercedes, Ford, Peugeot/Citroën, Renault and Nissan – all deny the accusations.

These companies were chosen by the court as the main defendants to be tried first given the magnitude of the case. They have been accused by 220,000 car owners of misleading them during emissions tests.

But depending on the outcome of this case, nine other automakers will face similar claims.

The Dieselgate scandal first broke in September 2015, when the US Environmental Protection Agency accused Volkswagen of installing software – known as “defeat devices” – on diesel cars to reduce the cars’ nitrogen oxide emissions.

In 2020, the High Court ruled that Volkswagen had used defeat devices in violation of European Union rules to pass emissions tests.

Volkswagen has settled a class action out of court, paying £193 million to 91,000 British motorists.

The company has so far paid out more than €32bn (£27.8bn) over the scandal, mostly in the US.

The High Court will decide whether systems installed in diesel cars by the five carmakers were designed to contravene clean air laws.

It is alleged that the “defeat devices” allowed a car to identify when it was in a test scenario. He would then run his engine at lower-than-normal power and performance levels in order to record lower nitrogen oxide readings.

Lawyers for motorists will argue that they were misled about the eco-friendliness of the vehicles and that the cars still on the road continue to emit dangerous levels of pollution.

Although the trial begins Monday, the judgment is not expected until summer 2026. If the court rules against the automakers, a new trial to determine compensation levels is expected to begin in fall 2026.

Martyn Day of Leigh Day, one of 22 law firms representing drivers, said: “A decade after the Dieselgate scandal was first revealed, 1.6 million British motorists now have the chance to establish at trial whether their vehicles contained technology designed to cheat emissions tests.”

He said if the allegations against the carmakers were upheld in court it would “demonstrate one of the most egregious corporate breaches of trust in modern times”.

“It would also mean that people in the UK are breathing in far more harmful emissions from these vehicles than they have been told, potentially putting the health of millions of people at risk.”

The companies involved said the complaints against them were baseless.

A Mercedes spokesperson said the mechanisms used in testing were “justifiable from a technical and legal point of view.”

Renault and Stellantis, which own Peugeot and Citroën, said the vehicles they sold complied with regulations at the time.

Ford said the claims had “no basis” and Nissan said it was “committed to compliance in all markets in which we operate.”