Landgericht verurteilt Volkswagen zur Rücknahme eines VW T5

emissions scandal engine EA 189 in the "Bulli".

In its judgment (case no. 6 O 46/20 of 17.09.2020), the Wuppertal Regional Court upheld the claim of an owner of a VW T5 and sentenced the Volkswagen Group to take back the car. The plaintiff receives her purchase price less an amount of 2,631 euros for the 25,000 kilometers driven and her financing costs of 1,822 euros.

The court found that the Volkswagen T5 had the scandal engine "EA 189" This engine type has two different, software-controlled operating modes, which cause different nitrogen oxide emissions on a test bench and in normal traffic. The fact that there was initially no recall for this model by the Federal Motor Transport Authority in connection with the emissions scandal was not detrimental here.

Court: Clear verdict against VW due to deliberate deception

In the court's view, it was Volkswagen AG's job to refute the plaintiff's argument. The Volkswagen Group alone has the necessary knowledge to explain which measures are used to deactivate the test bench recognition software that is generally present in EA 189 engines in its T5 model, or how exactly this differs from that in passenger cars. VW's claim that the emissions control system installed in these vehicles works with equal effectiveness in both driving situations - i.e. both in the test bench and on the road - was not enough for the court.

The court ruled very clearly. Volkswagen had systematically, over many years and in relation to the diesel engine of the EA189 series, brought vehicles with illegal defeat devices onto the market in Germany in seven-digit numbers, in its own interest in terms of costs and thus profit, by deliberately and intentionally deceiving the KBA. The engine control software was deliberately and intentionally programmed in such a way that the statutory Exhaust gas limits are only met on the test bench using an inadmissible switch-off device were, the judgment states.

This means, on the one hand, an increased burden on the environment with nitrogen oxides and, on the other hand, the risk of restrictions or prohibitions on the operation of the vehicles concerned. Such behavior is particularly reprehensible and incompatible with the fundamental values of the legal and moral order. This also applies when purchasing a used vehicle.