VW Gets Sued By Its First Major German Customer

The Volkswagen Group is being sued by German fish distributor Deutsche See for leasing them a fleet of vehicles marketed as being environmentally friendly.

With this lawsuit now pending, Deutsche See has become the first major German corporate customer to sue VW over its diesel-emissions scandal.

According to Autonews, Deutsche See, which leases about 500 vehicles from VW, was unable to reach an out-of-court settlement as talks broke down after VW replaced relevant managers with lawyers and PR managers.

Apparently, Deutsche See is suing for €11.9 million ($12.8 million), as reported by German tabloid Bild am Sonntag.

“Deutsche See only went into partnership with VW because VW promised the most environmentally friendly, sustainable mobility concept,” said the German fish distributor, who has filed its complaint for malicious deception at the regional court in Brunswick, close to VW’s Wolfsburg headquarters.

So far, VW has already had to pay over €20 billion ($21.6 billion) following the ‘Dieselgate’ emissions scandal.