10:06 am, November 11, 2024
Further recalls could be afoot following an investigation into thousands of cars not previously subject to cheat device claims.
According to The Times, 47 different models made under 20 brands by 11 vehicle manufacturers are suspected of being more polluting than originally thought, though the names of the cars involved have yet to be revealed.
The investigation comes nine years after the Volkswagen ‘Dieselgate’ scandal in which the German car maker installed ‘cheat devices’ into diesel models to trick official tests into recording lower emissions levels.
Environmental law group ClientEarth last year entered a legal complaint to ministers to try and find out how many cars by other manufacturers might have the devices in the UK, believing that anywhere between two and six million cars are still on the road with the cheat devices fitted.
The Department for Transport (DfT) confirmed to the Times that it has begun the first phase of an investigation in a response to a freedom of information request by ClientEarth. A crucial ruling from the European Court of Justice last year opened the door to compensation for people with defeat devices in their diesel cars.
The department is looking at prohibited defeat devices in diesel cars registered from 2009 to 2019, where it has a suspicion they are present. The first phase of the investigation is confined to 47 cars but research suggests there may be 200 or more models in the UK with devices.
Any resulting recalls would need to be funded by the manufacturers concerned, as well as associated legal costs, including claims led by no-win, no-fee solicitors representing car owners.
Volkswagen agreed to pay £193 million to more than 90,000 UK drivers after the 2015 scandal.
‘Excess emissions from vehicles are contributing to air pollution, which we know is the biggest threat to public health in the UK,’ said Emily Kearsey, a lawyer at ClientEarth.
‘This is an invisible killer that’s shortening people’s lives and reducing their quality of life. Consumers and the public have been let down by previous governments.’
Picture via PA Images
