Volvo is currently at the center of a comprehensive diesel emissions scandal that poses a significant legal and reputational challenge for the company. After an extensive investigation, the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) has determined beyond a doubt that many of the manufacturer's diesel models contain illegal defeat devices. This represents a clear and serious violation of European and German vehicle registration law. A ban on the registration of 130,000 vehicles appears inevitable.
The authority’s verdict – clear and final
The authority's decision is clear: In the affected vehicle models, such as the Volvo XC60 2.0 D (Euro 5), the exhaust gas purification system only functions within a narrow temperature range between 15 and 30 degrees Celsius. Outside this range, nitrogen oxide emissions exceed the permissible level, which, according to consistent case law of the European Court of Justice, constitutes prohibited manipulation under Article 5 (2) of Regulation (EC) No. 715/2007.
In concrete terms, this means that these vehicles should never have received type approval – they are illegal.
Volvo allowed the hearing period granted to it to expire without correcting the defects – an act of willful ignorance or disregard of German and European registration law. As a result, the KBA issued a binding recall notice – the first step toward the permanent decommissioning of all affected vehicles.
130,000 vehicles affected in Germany – road ban threatened
What initially began with a recall of 1,700 vehicles is now developing into a nationwide manipulation scandal: According to internal investigations by the authority, all Volvo diesel models are affected. This means that 130,000 vehicles were illegally put on the road in Germany. Their operating permits are objectively invalid—and their registration is therefore illegal.
It is not a question of if, but only of when: a comprehensive road ban is imminent.
Legal situation clear – catastrophic for Volvo
Volvo is faced with a choice between two exclusively negative scenarios:
Emergency legal protection against the recall notice – a legally hopeless step. Any attempt to temporarily halt the proceedings will almost certainly fail. The ECJ and the administrative courts have already taken a clear position: a temperature-dependent shutdown of exhaust gas purification is inadmissible in almost all cases.
Main proceedings, which will drag on for several years. However, even during this process, Volvo must immediately remove the illegal software – a measure the manufacturer is apparently neither willing nor able to implement. If Volvo fails to comply with this obligation, the statutory deadline will expire, and the KBA will immediately forcibly decommission the affected vehicles.
Billion dollar lawsuits inevitable – consumers have a right to return
For all those affected whose cases are still open or whose cases were dismissed in the first instance, we recommend keeping these cases open and exhausting all legal remedies. Based on the Stuttgart Higher Regional Court's ruling, legal expenses insurance should now provide coverage for further proceedings.
In addition to public law sanctions, a wave of class-action civil lawsuits is looming. The legal framework is clearly defined by numerous supreme court rulings: Buyers of the affected vehicles are entitled to a full rescission of the purchase contract, based on Section 826 of the German Civil Code (BGB), Section 823 (2) of the German Civil Code (BGB) in conjunction with Section 263 of the German Criminal Code (StGB), and Article 5 of Regulation (EC) 715/2007.
The result: return of the vehicle and refund of the purchase price, minus a small usage fee. With tens of thousands of affected cases, the rescission costs add up to a sum that poses an existential risk for Volvo. Therefore, "first come, first served!" applies. Respond NOW!
The “buyback” will not be a voluntary act, but a court-enforced liability for intentional fraud.
Key witness to their own downfall
It's a controversial issue: Volvo has already closed the diesel chapter by 2024. But instead of presenting this step as an ethical shift, the true reason is now revealed: a retreat from the technology to avoid responsibility. The engineers who could have carried out the retrofitting were long since laid off – the problem was outsourced, postponed, and suppressed.
But now the truth can no longer be suppressed: Volvo has cheated. The vehicles are illegal. The consequences are inevitable.
The factual and legal situation is clear – Volvo must take responsibility
The public was lied to, buyers cheated, and the environment was damaged. Volvo knowingly violated applicable law and must now face comprehensive legal responsibility.
The consequences are clear:
- Decommissioning of all affected vehicles
- Obligation to recall under administrative coercion
- Rescission of purchase contracts
- Mass civil lawsuits for intentional immoral damage
- Examination of criminal liability at board level
Volvo's diesel chapter is far from over – it is just beginning and will go down in history as a serious breach of the law.
Defend yourself now.
The courts have clearly sided with consumers. They have ruled, in principle, that legal entities suing car manufacturers are entitled to the return of the vehicle, less a so-called compensation for use and repayment of the purchase price, or to pure damages.
Only those who defend themselves can assert their rights and prevent financial loss. Protect your rights.
Financial support:
Currently, all legal protection insurers in Germany cover the costs if the legal protection insurance contract was concluded when the vehicle was purchased.
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