About 220,000 drivers from Netherlands and the UK are joining forces against the VW Group, seeking compensation over the diesel emissions scandal.
More specifically British law firm Harcus Sinclair and Dutch Foundation “Stichting Volkswagen Car Claim,” a class action that represents 180,000 Dutch VW owners, have teamed up in a move that could spark a pan-European lawsuit against the German company, as reported by AutoNews.
The VW Group has already agreed to spend up to $25 billion in the United States to settle claims from owners, environmental regulators, states and dealers and to buy back around 500,000 diesel-powered U.S. cars.
However the German company hasn’t reached a similar deal in Europe and now faces billions of euros in claims from customers and investors.
The Dutch Foundation says it’s been trying to reach a “reasonable settlement” with VW since 2015 and claims that it’s also cooperating with other partners representing drivers from countries like Austria, Germany, Switzerland and is in talks with others in Spain, France, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic and Scandinavia.
“We are delighted to be teaming up with Harcus Sinclair UK Limited, who have done an excellent job in paving the way for car owners to seek redress from VW through the courts,” said Guido van Woerkom, director of the foundation.
“To date, the owners of the 8.5 million affected European cars remain in the cold,” said Harcus Sinclair, which has signed up about 41,000 UK VW drivers. A London trial is expected in early 2019.
VW on the other hand says it took the trust of its customers very seriously, but it saw no legal basis for consumer lawsuits as they plan to fix the affected models in Europe. “All vehicles affected are and have been technically safe and roadworthy. They can be driven on roads without any limitations and can be sold without loss in residual value,” VW said in a statement. “Even if we were to hold talks with law firms we would maintain this position.”
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