ROME – The Dieselgate troubles seem to have no end for Volkswagen. The administrative court of the northern region of Schleswig-Holstein, in Germany, has just invalidated the approval issued by the German automotive agency KBA for the software installed on dozens of old diesel models of the Wolfsburg car manufacturer. The software updated after the Dieselgate scandal to bring the Group’s vehicles into compliance was deemed illegal.
The environmental NGO Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), which had strongly contested the approval, welcomed the ruling in the name of “protecting the health of millions of people who in our cities are exposed to toxins from diesel engine exhaust gases “.
This first instance decision, like the one taken in February 2023, is “wrong and unfounded”, Volkswagen reacted in a statement sent to AFP. Now, together with KBA, the German giant has decided to appeal, as it had already done with last year’s sentence.
The impact of the decision is difficult to assess, although, according to the Duh, it would be “millions of diesel vehicles” of the Volkswagen, Audi and Seat brands, for a total of 62 models, which would have to be modified and equipped with a new software for the treatment of polluting gases.
For its part, Volkswagen reiterates that the court’s decision does not entail “any threat” for the possible recall of the vehicles in question, nor does it commit the company to equipping them with new software.
Environmental campaigns and car manufacturers have been at loggerheads over this software fix for years.
The manufacturers claim that the new device, which reduces or deactivates the filter system’s nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions above a certain temperature, is designed to protect the engine.
Environmental organizations, however, consider this software to be a circumvention trick designed to comply with environmental regulations during the vehicle approval testing phases, then evading them in real use.
It should be noted that in the coming months other appeals presented by the Duh against the approval of similar software on diesel vehicles from Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, BMW, Fiat and 15 other manufacturers will be examined.