Dieselgate: Volkswagen loses appeal, Australian Federal Court upholds $125 million fine
A fine of $125 million against Volkswagen for ‘Dieselgate’ has been upheld by the Australian Federal Court.
Volkswagen has lost a Federal Court appeal against a $125 million fine handed down in the wake of the ‘Dieselgate’ saga.
Volkswagen and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) had originally agreed to a $75 million fine, but in December 2019 the Federal Court described the fine as “manifestly inadequate”, increasing it to $125 million.
In 2015, the German car company was found to have used on-board computer software to cheat emissions testing equipment – eventually known as the Dieselgate scandal.
Many of its diesel models – advertised in major markets as ‘clean’ diesels – produced significantly more harmful emissions than were stated, and have resulted in Volkswagen paying an estimated $46.5 billion in fines, compensation, and vehicle buybacks globally.
The $125 million fine is the highest to be handed down to a company for breaching Australian Consumer Law.
*** This article has been archived for your research. The original version from CarAdvice can be found here ***
