High court rejects most of 'dieselgate' claims brought by 1.6m UK car owners
News Source
โขFri, 10 Jul 2026 16:54:57 GMT
๐ฐ What Happened
The UK High Court rejected most claims from a dieselgate lawsuit brought by 1.6 million British car owners. The judge ruled that most car makers did not use illegal defeat devices to cheat emissions tests. Only some Mercedes and Peugeot-Citroรซn cars were found to have used these devices.
The judge said that not every software setting that changes how an engine behaves counts as a cheat device. Car makers welcomed the ruling. Lawyers for the car owners said they are thinking about appealing the decision.
The case was the biggest group action trial in English legal history. It took 15 weeks in court between October 2025 and March 2026. It focused on whether car makers used hidden software to trick emissions tests.
๐ The Backstory
The dieselgate scandal began in 2015 when Volkswagen was caught cheating on US emissions tests. The company used software that made cars pass tests but then pollute much more on real roads. The scandal cost Volkswagen over $30 billion in fines and settlements.
After VW was caught, people in many countries sued other car makers too. They argued that many companies used similar tricks. In the UK, 1.6 million car owners joined a group lawsuit against multiple car manufacturers.
The case covered cars from Nissan, Ford, Peugeot, Citroรซn, and Mercedes. The owners argued their cars were worth less because of the cheating. They wanted compensation for the lost value and for being misled about how clean their cars were.
๐ฏ Why It Matters
This ruling means most UK diesel car owners will not get compensation. It also sets a legal standard for what counts as cheating on emissions tests. That affects how car makers design engines and how clean the air is for everyone.
The UK High Court rejected most claims from a dieselgate lawsuit brought by 1.6 million British car owners. The judge ruled that most car makers did not use illegal defeat devices to cheat emissions tests. Only some Mercedes and Peugeot-Citroรซn cars were found to have used these devices.
The judge said that not every software setting that changes how an engine behaves counts as a cheat device. Car makers welcomed the ruling. Lawyers for the car owners said they are thinking about appealing the decision.
The case was the biggest group action trial in English legal history. It took 15 weeks in court between October 2025 and March 2026. It focused on whether car makers used hidden software to trick emissions tests.
The dieselgate scandal began in 2015 when Volkswagen was caught cheating on US emissions tests. The company used software that made cars pass tests but then pollute much more on real roads. The scandal cost Volkswagen over $30 billion in fines and settlements.
After VW was caught, people in many countries sued other car makers too. They argued that many companies used similar tricks. In the UK, 1.6 million car owners joined a group lawsuit against multiple car manufacturers.
The case covered cars from Nissan, Ford, Peugeot, Citroรซn, and Mercedes. The owners argued their cars were worth less because of the cheating. They wanted compensation for the lost value and for being misled about how clean their cars were.
This ruling means most UK diesel car owners will not get compensation. It also sets a legal standard for what counts as cheating on emissions tests. That affects how car makers design engines and how clean the air is for everyone.