Class Actions !

Volkswagen will be facing a class action in the Federal Court this week as Australians who purchased their vehicles equipped with diesel engines fight for compensation.  Volkswagen admit that their diesel engines exceed the limits imposed on noxious gases and it has compensated 470,000 American
car owner with $ 5,000 each. It has refused compensation to the 100,000 Australian Volkswagen diesel owners, claiming that the Australian emission laws are different to those in the United States.

This case really has nothing to do with the extent of actual emission laws.  The fact is that Volkswagen made a false claim of what standards were achieved by the engines it produced and not only did these engines fall far short, the company was well aware of the deficit and developed masking technology designed to deceive not only owners. but the testing authorities of all the governments where the vehicles were tested and sold.  At the same time, claimed economy to run these cars was also deliberately false.

On a fine technical point, these diesel vehicles do not attain the standards required in Australia for registration and should the Australian government decide to play hardball, it could order them off the road.   The Federal court has ordered Volkswagen to bring their technical people before the court so the omission details can be closely studied.   It seems that this class action is fast developing into a battle between legal minds.

There is no doubt those owning a diesel Volkswagen vehicle in Australia have suffered loss.  The publicity has certainly reduced the resale value of the cars they own and if the manufacturer fits enabling equipment to reduce the noxious gas problem, the performance of the cars will suffer and they may need more fuel to cover the same distance.   Then there is the lowered satisfaction and prestige in owners minds.   They purchased what was touted as the pinnacle of the car industry, only to discover that it was sub standard and engineered to deceive.

Volkswagen has taken a massive financial hit.  Its share price plummeted and there was a massive sales loss across world markets.  The company name has lost some of its prestige value and there have been casualties among its senior executives.

Many Australians will question why it is necessary for owners here to have to resort to a class action to gain compensation.   We have consumer protection laws administered by consumer protection authorities who are quite ruthless when it comes to prosecuting those who fail to meet the standards that exist in each state.  Volkswagen has been forced to admit that they cheated and that their product is deficient.   The very people who drag shop owners into court and impose penalties for failing to meet the law standards when it comes to a faulty toaster are strangely silent when it comes to one of the worlds biggest car manufacturers.

To some extent, this reluctance to get tough on big ticket items was probably a form of protection for our local car industry.  Those making cars in Australia used the jobs they created as a bargaining weapon and as a consequence repeated call for the introduction of "lemon "laws were never enacted.

In a few more months we will not have a local car industry.   All the cars sold in Australia will be imported and this clears the way for consumer protection laws to be upgraded - and this Volkswagen debacle would be a very good starting point.

It is time the consumer protection people entered this class action and demanded that Australian buyers got the same treatment as people in other countries !