The Federal Trade Commission sued Volkswagen over its "Clean Diesel" ad campaign, claiming it misled the public about the cars' capabilities.
Volkswagen’s diesel woes worsened today as the Federal Trade Commission filed suit against the German automaker over its “clean diesel” ads, claiming the campaign misled drivers about the vehicles.
The suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, California, claims the automaker’s 550,000 diesel-powered cars sold in the U.S. between 2008 and 2015 we due, in part, to the “clean diesel” campaign.
Late last year, VW admitted that more than 11 million cars with three generations of diesel engines did not meet the the company’s stated emissions and fuel economy ratings and the maker used a “cheat device” to get around testing aimed certifying the performance of the cars.
Further, the FTC alleges VW represented that the cars “had low emissions, complied with government emissions standards, were environmentally friendly and retained a high resale value. During this time, Volkswagen USA became the largest seller of light-duty diesel vehicles in the United States.”
Federal regulators said in normal driving, the vehicles emitted up to 4,000% more nitrogen oxide than the legal limit allows despite advertised claims of reducing those emissions by 90%.
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“For years Volkswagen’s ads touted the company’s ‘clean diesel’ cars even though it now appears Volkswagen rigged the cars with devices designed to defeat emissions tests,” FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said in a statement.
“Our lawsuit seeks compensation for the consumers who bought affected cars based on Volkswagen’s deceptive and unfair practices.”
The FTC noted the average price of a VW sold with a diesel engine during the affected years was $28,000, and while it’s suing for compensation, it didn’t outline how much it was asking for on the behalf of consumers. The affected vehicles include 2009 through 2015 Volkswagen TDI diesel models of Jettas, Passats, and Touareg SUVs, as well as TDI Audi models.
A Volkswagen spokeswoman told the Detroit News the company “has received the complaint and continues to cooperate with all relevant U.S. regulators, including the Federal Trade Commission.
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“Our most important priority is to find a solution to the diesel emissions matter and earn back the trust of our customers and dealers as we build a better company,” Volkswagen spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan told the News in an email.
The lawsuit is the third this month the automaker’s been hit by. One suit, filed in Germany by major institutional investors, seeks nearly $3.6 billion due to the lost value in Volkswagen shares which have plunged by a third since the scandal broke last September.
The other new legal action was initiated by a former VW employee who claims he was fired after trying to prevent the deletion of data connected to emissions test cheating.
The latter suit could prove particularly problematic as Volkswagen is under criminal investigation in several countries, including both the U.S. and Germany, and was ordered to preserve potential evidence related to its admitted rigging of diesel tests.
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In all, more than 500 suits have been filed against VW related to the issue. The company’s been marshalling its financial resources trying to prepare for the fallout, setting aside more than $7 billion at one point and discussing selling some of its assets, including its highly profitable heavy truck enterprise.