Dieselgate scandal: German court orders Volkswagen to pay compensation to car owners

Germany's Federal Court of Justice (BGH) on May 25 ruled in favour of Volkswagen car owners over the 2015 'Dieselgate' scandal where the company reportedly cheated on regulatory emissions tests involving millions of vehicles. The German federal court on Monday ruled that Volkswagen has to pay compensation to owners who received the manipulated diesel cars. 

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Dieselgate scandal

The German car manufacturer was hit by the scandal in September 2015 after a United States agency issued a notice of the Clean Air Act to Volkswagen Group. It was found that the company had manipulated the programs of its diesel engines to show lower emissions and meet with the standards of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). After initial denial, Volkswagen admitted to cheating on regulatory emissions tests.

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Following its admission, regulators in various countries opened an investigation against the car company and its stock price plummetted immediately after the news. Volkswagen's CEO Martin Winterkorn had to step down from his post following calls demanding his resignation. Volkswagen admitted that over 11 million cars were involved in the false emissions report from 2009 to 2015. In 2017, a US court ordered Volkswagen to pay $2.8 billion as a criminal fine and charged its then CEO Martin Winterkorn with fraud and conspiracy in 2018. 

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