Car manufacturers will face trials over Dieselgate emissions scandal next year
Trials of Dieselgate claims against four major car manufacturers will take place next year after the High Court gave dates to hear vehicle owners’ allegations of the use of in-car technology to cheat emissions tests.
Posted on 13 March 2024
Following hearings on Monday 11 and Tuesday 12 March, the High Court ruled that the first trial will be that of Mercedes, Ford, Nissan/Renault and Peugeot/Citroen, to take place in October 2025.
This week’s five-day hearing before Mrs Justice Cockerill and Mr Justice Constable is part of the ongoing legal action against 16 major car manufacturers alleged to have used the prohibited ‘defeat devices’ to cheat emissions tests.
The Mercedes case has been designated as the lead claim and Nissan/Renault and Peugeot Citroen will join Ford as so-called additional lead claims. The trials in October 2025 will proceed first, setting precedent for those that follow to reduce overlap and streamline the huge scale of the legal process.
This week’s hearings, which are due to continue until Friday, will also consider the timetable and proposed confidentiality of the relevant documents regarding the alleged use of defeat devices by the manufacturers. Further hearings ahead of the October 2025 trial dates will be held at the High Court in October 2024, and in Spring 2025. A further trial will be listed for Spring 2026.
The emissions claims, referred to as NOx Group Litigation, have been issued against the following vehicle Manufacturing Groups: Mercedes, Vauxhall/Opel, Nissan/Renault, Volkswagen/Porsche, Peugeot/Citroën, Jaguar/Land Rover, Ford, BMW, FCA/Suzuki, Volvo, Hyundai-Kia, Toyota and Mazda.
The law firms representing vehicle owners include Leigh Day, which is bringing proceedings against nine of the manufacturer groups.
Senior Partner at Leigh Day, Martyn Day said:
“The High Court’s decision to bring four manufacturers to trial next year over allegations they cheated emissions tests is a major breakthrough for more than 1.2 million vehicle owners. With the listing of the Mercedes, Ford, Nissan/Renault and Peugeot/Citroen trials later this year and next, we now have a clear roadmap to get all the claims over the diesel emissions scandal resolved in the next two years.”
Martyn Day
Martyn is the joint founder of the firm and is the senior partner
High Court rules diesel emissions scandal claims against Mercedes and two other manufacturers will lead the way for claims of more than 1.2 million vehicle owners
The High Court has ruled that legal claims against Mercedes and two additional vehicle manufacturers, to be determined at a later date, will go ahead as the lead claims in the diesel emissions scandal, with a first trial potentially taking place in February 2025.
Success for thousands of BMW drivers in High Court in latest ‘Dieselgate’ case ruling
More than 100,000 BMW and MINI drivers have won their first hearing in their claim against the German car manufacturer over the vehicle emissions scandal.