Vauxhall is the latest manufacturer to face claims that some of its diesel engines were fitted with emissions ‘cheating’ devices or software.
It follows similar accusations against Mercedes-Benz, Fiat-Chrysler and the Renault-Nissan alliance, in the wake of the Volkswagen 'dieselgate' scandal.
Law firm Milberg London says it is launching a case against Vauxhall for drivers who bought or leased certain models manufactured between 2009 and 2019.
A statement issued by the car maker said: “Vauxhall Motors is not aware of any such claim and rejects any accusation of using illegal defeat devices. Our vehicles meet the applicable regulations.”
More than a million people could receive compensation if the claim is successful.
Edward Cardington, partner at Milberg London LLP and lead lawyer for the Vauxhall Pay Up Campaign, said: “The Vauxhall Pay Up campaign has set out to prove that Vauxhall cheated both the emissions tests and hardworking British drivers.
“Motorists were promised a combination of low environmental impact and high driving performance that appears to have been impossible in real driving conditions. Put simply, clean diesel looks like a myth and Vauxhall’s cars did not provide the performance drivers paid for.”
The Vauxhall Pay Up campaign will claim under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading regulations. These laws state that customers who were sold products with misleading information could receive anything between 25% and 75% of the cost of the product they purchased in compensation.
Potentially affected models highlighted by Milberg London include diesel versions of the following Vauxhall models: Astra, Cascada, Corsa, Insignia, Mokka, Movano and Zafira.
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Matt has been an automotive journalist for eight years. As senior staff writer he is responsible for the automotive content on Fleet News and also contributes to Automotive Management. Prior to this, Matt worked in the automotive industry for 10 years.
Sage & Onion - 19/01/2021 14:23
This is hardly a surprise to me and is why the VW Dieselgate scandal didn't persuade me from removing VW brand cars from our choice lists because it was always likely that other manufacturers were probably employing similar tactics. How else can you explain that in real world driving it was very unlikely to get any better than 85% of manufacturers tested mpg figures? And after dieselgate I did a comparison of actual vs tested mpg and calculated the actual co2 g/km emissions and Vauxhall came off much worse than VW models in our fleet when comparing actuals to manufacturers tested and published figures. But I am a bit jaded by all the litigation culture surrounding these issues and we should draw a line under it and instead get ALL manufacturers to put their reserves for settling any litigation into faster roll of fast EV charging infrastructure or development of hydrogen fuel cell technology and infrastructure.