More than seven years after the outbreak of the emissions scandal at the German manufacturer VW, an Austrian customer has now also received compensation. It was the first time that the Supreme Court discussed the polluting tricks in substance.
In the judgment of 21 February (10 Ob 2/23a), the Supreme Court obliged the car dealer to pay back the purchase price step by step against return of the vehicle and the Supreme Court awarded the dealer compensation for the use of the vehicle. The proceedings against the vehicle manufacturer have been discontinued due to ongoing proceedings at the European Court of Justice.
The Supreme Court has determined the following formula for the usage fee: Agreed purchase price multiplied by the number of kilometers actually driven divided by the expected mileage at the time of purchase. In the specific case, plaintiff bought the car in March 2015 for about 27,000 euros and drove 70,000 kilometers with it. The remaining mileage at the time of purchase was approximately 250,000 kilometers. This results in a user fee of approximately 7,500 euros, which means that the buyer will receive approximately 19,500 euros back from the dealer. There is also an interest rate of four percent.
Plaintiff refused software update
The diesel scandal at Volkswagen – and also in the specific case before the Supreme Court – was about a manipulation device. That is, the diesel engine had its own operation, so in the emissions test procedure it emits less exhaust gases than under normal road conditions. The plaintiff rejected a later software update that would require the emission-reducing mode to be used in real driving, but is actually only fully effective at outside temperatures of 15 to 33 degrees Celsius, in a so-called thermal window.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
