Transport association joins diesel software scam court battles

Transport sector organisation TLN has joined forces with mass claims group Dieselgate.com to encourage thousands of small van owners to go to court as part of the ongoing software manipulation scandal.

Volkswagen admitted in 2015 that it had sold some 11 million cars worldwide which had been fitted with software which let them appear to be less polluting than they actually were in laboratory tests.

Since then, car manufacturers have been hit by a string of mass claims and in 2021, a Dutch court ruled that everyone who had bought a diesel Volkswagen, Audi, Seat and Skoda which had been fitted with the software was entitled to compensation.

Now TLN is encouraging its members to sign up for a mass claim by the Diesel Emissions Justice Foundation – which has five ongoing court cases against car makers.

Dieselgate.com’s Arco Krijgsman told the Telegraaf on Monday that some 4,000 to 5,000 companies could be eligible for compensation if they sign up. “On average, we are talking about 10 vehicles per company,” he said.

Many of them are small building and courier companies, he told the paper.

There are two other initiatives also fighting for compensation for diesel car owners in the Netherlands – Stichting Car Claim, a dedicated foundation set up by lawyers and members of motoring organisations, and Stichting Volkswagen Group Diesel Efficiency (VGDES) which works with consumers association Consumentenbond.