ACCC to take Volkwagen to court | Dieselgate

Australian consumer watchdog files court action against VW for "misleading or deceptive conduct" around diesel emissions scandal.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has announced it will take Volkswagen Australia to federal court over the ongoing diesel emissions scandal that currently envelops the car company.

The ACCC alleges that VW has breached Australian consumer law on multiple occasions between 2011 and 2015, accusing the German car brand of making "false or misleading" representations of its diesel-powered cars in the local market.

It alleges that the nitrogen oxide output of the affected cars, which totals about 94,000 models across the VW, Skoda and Audi brands, is "significantly higher" than advertised.

It also accuses Volkswagen of marketing the cars caught up in the cheat code scandal as environmentally safe, despite having the cheat code in the software.

"The ACCC alleges that Volkswagen engaged in multiple breaches of the Australian Consumer Law by concealing software in their vehicles to cheat emissions testing and misleading consumers about the vehicle's compliance with standards and emission levels during on-road conditions," ACCC chairman Rod Sims said in a statement.

"These allegations involve extraordinary conduct of a serious and deliberate nature by a global corporation and its Australian subsidiary misleading consumers and the Australian public. We expect higher standards of behaviour from all companies that supply to Australian consumers."

A statement from Volkswagen Australia today indicates that a fix for the affected cars is imminent.

The ACCC's maximum penalty for an individual breach is $1.1 million. Almost 80,000 VWs are affected in Australia.

Volkswagen Australia's managing director Michael Bartsch recently told journalists that he believed the company had only sold cars that were completely legal, and that no standards or laws were breached.

"We have bought our products in Australia in the past and currently have all exceeded the environmental standards here in Australia, the legal environmental standards," he said in Sydney last month.

"We have not misrepresented any of the facts on the car in terms of from a consumer point of view. Under Australian law, we don't believe there's anything on our car which is illegal."

A statement from Volkswagen Australia today indicates that a fix for the affected cars – which include 1.6- and 2.0-litre diesel-powered Golfs, Amaroks, Caddys, Jettas and Passats – is imminent, and that the ACCC's action does not "provide any practical benefit to consumers".

VW said that software solutions for 70 per cent of affected Australian vehicles have been submitted to the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development (DIRD), with approval of these fixes expected "imminently".

"The best outcome for customers whose vehicle is affected is to have the voluntary recall service updates installed," said Mr Bartsch today.

 The delay between the scandal breaking and the department commencing legal action was simply down to the length of time that the investigation took.

The DIRD, ACCC and VW have been in consultation over the issue since it broke in September 2015.

A spokesperson from the ACCC said today that the delay between the scandal breaking and the department commencing legal action was simply down to the length of time that the investigation took.

The spokesperson also said that the issue of recalling the vehicles lay with the DIRD, while the issue of Australian consumer law breaches resided with the ACCC.

"The two matters are entirely unrelated," she said.

A motions hearing will take place on the 23rd of September in Canberra – almost a year to the day since news of the scandal broke in Germany.

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