For Volkswagen, the emissions gate is a very destructive and long-lasting “nightmare”.
Volkswagen’s wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary recently asked the U.S. 9th Circuit to reconsider a ruling that two counties could seek financial penalties for excessive emissions from their diesel vehicles, foreign media reported. That could cost the German carmaker billions of dollars.
In June, two counties, Salt Lake City County and Hillsborough County, sued Volkswagen in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court, saying its “emissions gate” vehicles were harmful to the local environment.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that VW could not avoid potential financial penalties from two counties in Florida and Utah, a move that could add to VW’s “diesel emissionsgate” and result in sky-high fines for the company.
It is worth mentioning that other counties in the United States are also claiming compensation.
Volkswagen Group USA said the ruling, if upheld, could have wide-ranging implications for the U.S. auto industry and could force car companies to “either avoid maintaining or improving emissions control systems for vehicles in use or pass on significant compliance costs to consumers.”
As a result, VW asked the jury to reconsider the ruling, or for the Court of Appeal to take up the case in its full power, warning that the ruling could affect millions of cars recalled each year for emissions and could lead to “regulatory confusion”.
So far, the U.S. Department of Justice has not commented on Volkswagen’s views.
So far, the emissionsgate scandal has cost Volkswagen 30 billion euros worldwide, including fines and vehicle buyback costs.