Dutch lawsuit demands BMW compensation for software that messes with diesel emissions
The Car Claim Foundation and the Consumentenbond are taking BMW to court for using software to make their diesel cars look more environmentally friendly than they are. According to the consumer clubs, BMW misled consumers by falsely telling them that they could drive these cars “without any responsibility to the environment” and must compensate them for that. This affects approximately 100,000 cars sold in the Netherlands.
For years, BMW marketed its diesel cars as green, environmentally friendly, and fuel-efficient, Consumentenbond said. But various investigations by Car Claim and in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom found that BMW installed software in these diesel cars that artificially lowered the nitrogen emissions during official approval tests. This made the cars appear to meet the legal standard, while, under normal driving conditions, their emissions are “alarmingly” high.
“It is shameless how BMW has misled both the inspection authorities and consumers. The company must take responsibility for this. We want BMW to compensate the consumers they misled,” said Sandra Molenaar, director of the Consumentenbond, the Dutch consumers’ association.
The consumer organizations want BMW to recall the cars with the fraudulent software and modify them so that they comply with legal emissions regulations in practice, but without negatively impacting their performance. They also want BMW to compensate all current and former car owners who unknowingly purchased a car with this dodgy software. According to the organizations, it involves about 100,00 BMW and MINI diesel cars sold on the Dutch market between 1 January 2009 and 1 September 2019.
“Although we have initiated legal proceedings, we continue to urge BMW to engage in discussions to reach a fair solution together,” said Car Claim chairman Guido van Woerkom.
The diesel scandal came to light in 2015 with cars from the Volkswagen Group - Volkswagen, Audi, Škoda, and SEAT. Car claim reached an agreement with this manufacturer in September this year to compensate affected motorists. According to Van Woerkom, that agreement shows that “a collective settlement is possible.”
Legal proceedings are also underway against Citroën, Dacia, Mercedes-Benz, Opel, Peugeot, and Renault for the use of this fraudulent software. Consumers can check with their license plate number whether their car is affected on the Consumentenbond’s website, and also register for the mass claim there.
