We are sure you will have heard all about the VW scandals this week and the effects could be very far reaching with 16% of all vehicles in the UK being VW Group Cars.
VW have admitted that they have used software in their vehicles to ‘cheat’ emissions testing, producing lower emissions results in testing than are achievable in normal driving conditions.
Right now it is very difficult to tell where the far reaching ripples may end as we are currently at the very early stages, however, initial reports suggest that millions of vehicles in Europe could be affected by the cheating scandal as well. We have already had a number of questions from our dealers as to whether this is something they should be worried out about or not.
There could be potential claims from consumers regarding misdescription of emissions results so for now it may be advisable to omit these from your advertisements. There may also be a drop in demand for diesel vehicles until the scandal dies down and more information comes to light. Dealers may also choose not to buy into stock diesel vehicles for a time. Volkswagen franchise dealers may also have claims against Volkswagen Group and this may be a huge source of potential litigation going forward. Claims could also come from asthma sufferers and there are even reports of a general rise in road fund licence to reflect the increase in emissions and to recoup the under payments to the Exchequer due to the deceit. The list seems to be never ending at present!
We predict that this could become as big as the PPI scandal and we are likely to see an increase in ‘no win no fee’ conditional fee arrangement type claims. However, it is early days and we will have to wait and see how the scandal develops.
There are currently not enough details and firm evidence to know whether the value of diesel vehicles will have fallen and whether consumers will have claims for compensation. It may be that consumers could claim for the difference in value between the value of their vehicle as it is now and as it was when it was purchased- Would such claims be made against the dealer or VW themselves? VW have already set aside billions of euros to deal with such cases. Early reports of compensation may be premature since the CAP Black Book figures have not shown a significant drop in vehicle values to date.
For now it is too early to definitively say where the scandal may take us, however, it is certainly worth keeping an eye on and we will be grateful for information from anyone who has been affected by the scandal. Of course as a member we will be happy to answer any queries you may have. Please do phone us for advice and leave your comments below.
UPDATE – Volkswagen have named some of the models that may be affected – for further information please follow the link below…
http://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/manufacturer-news
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