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More than 1.6 million motorists are taking legal action against some of the world's leading car manufacturers over allegations their vehicles contained technology designed to cheat emissions tests. The trial is set to begin at the High Court on Monday and represents the largest legal claim of its kind in English history.
The motorists claim that diesel vehicles made from 2009 onwards contained "prohibited defeat devices" that allowed cars to detect when they were being tested. These devices allegedly altered the amount of harmful emissions produced, enabling the vehicles to pass emissions tests while producing higher pollution levels during normal driving.
The legal action is believed to be worth at least £6 billion, with most claimants living in England and Wales. Those taking action either bought, leased or otherwise acquired affected diesel vehicles from the manufacturers.
Major manufacturers face claims
The vehicles involved in the claims were made by Mercedes-Benz, Opel and Vauxhall, Nissan and Renault, Volkswagen and Porsche, Peugeot and Citroen, Jaguar Land Rover, Ford, BMW, FCA and Suzuki, Volvo, Hyundai-Kia, Toyota and Mazda. All manufacturers are resisting the claims.
The three-month trial beginning Monday will focus on "sample vehicles" from five manufacturers - Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Nissan, Ford and Peugeot and Citroen. The other manufacturers will be bound by the ruling from this case, which will be heard before Lady Justice Cockerill at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
Unprecedented legal challenge
The case involves more than 1,500 defendants when dealerships are taken into account, making it unprecedented in scale. In July last year, barrister Benjamin Williams KC said the budgets for both sides already stood at over £300 million.
While the main trial is due to conclude before Christmas, legal arguments will not be heard until March 2026. A ruling is expected next summer, with a further trial to determine compensation scheduled for autumn 2026.
Leigh Day's senior partner Martyn Day said that if the claims were proven, it would "demonstrate one of the most egregious breaches of corporate trust in modern times". He added: "It would also mean that people across the UK have been breathing in far more harmful emissions from these vehicles than they were told about, potentially putting the health of millions at risk."
Public health concerns raised
Mercedes owner Adam Kamenetzky, one of the claimants, said: "If these allegations are true, the regulators, the politicians and the public have been cheated by manufacturers who, it's claimed, are profiting from their sale of diesel cars while flouting clean air laws and measures such as Ulez, which aim to improve public health." He described air pollution as "a leading cause of ill health and premature death around the world" and said he wanted "to see justice, and if this trial helps to hold anyone who lied or cheated to account, that's my cause."
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
