Volkswagen fined nearly 20 million U.S. dollars in Spain for diesel vehicle complaint

According to foreign media reports, the consumer organization OCU stated on January 25 that a Spanish court had ordered the German car manufacturer Volkswagen to pay 16.3 million euros to Spanish consumers who bought cars with emission cheating devices ( Approximately 19.8 million U.S. dollars) in compensation.

(Image source: Volkswagen)

OCU stated in a statement that after a five-year legal battle, the Madrid court in Spain found that Volkswagen had engaged in business activities that violated the competition law and ordered the company to report to everyone affected OCU members pay 3,000 euros in compensation. A Volkswagen spokesperson said the company will seek an appeal against this ruling.

In 2015, Volkswagen admitted to cheating by using illegal software in diesel engine testing in the United States. So far, the scandal has caused the company to lose more than $30 billion in vehicle modifications, fines and punitive damages. Almost all affected American car owners agreed in 2016 to accept a settlement of US$25 billion proposed by Volkswagen.

After the cheating software was exposed, the US authorities banned the affected vehicles from being on the road, which triggered a large number of car owners to demand compensation from the public. But in Europe, these vehicles can still be on the road, so Volkswagen believes that European car owners have no legal basis for their claims. European authorities only asked Volkswagen to update the engine control software of the vehicle and fined it for fraud and management errors.

Last year, the German Supreme Court of Civil Disputes ruled that in Germany, Volkswagen must also compensate the affected car owners. This ruling by the German court will give the owner the right to return the vehicle and require Volkswagen to refund part of the purchase price. At present, there are still about 60,000 related lawsuits in lower courts in Germany, and these lawsuits will all use this ruling as a model.