It has been proven that major car companies do not have emission cheating devices

A High Court judge has ruled that several major car manufacturers’ vehicles did not contain devices that allegedly allowed them to cheat emissions.

More than 1.6 million drivers are being sued by more than 12 manufacturers over claims that several diesel cars made since 2009 contain “prohibited defeat devices” (PDDs).

At issue are 20 “sample vehicles” made by five manufacturers: Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Nissan, Ford and Peugeot and Citroen.

880,000 drivers said they were wrong about emissions testing.

A ten-week trial ended in March, and in a 369-page judgment handed down today, Mrs Justice Cockerill said most of the mechanisms were not PDDs, except those removed from Mercedes cars in 2015 and another used in some Peugeot-Citroen cars.

“The court rejected most of the main claims against the manufacturers whose vehicles were examined at trial,” the ruling said.

He added, “In most cases, the court has found that the appropriate strategy is not a prohibited defeat device.”

Mercedes welcomed the decision but said it disagreed with the court’s ruling that one of the four sample cars did not comply before the software update.

The German carmaker said: “In our view, the functionality of the emissions control software is acceptable on both technical and legal grounds. We are actively considering all our options, including an appeal.”

Peugeot-Citroën has yet to comment.

The people taking legal action either bought, leased or otherwise acquired a diesel car made by one of the companies, most of whom live in England and Wales.

Lawyers for the drivers told the trial that the devices installed in the cars were designed to detect when the vehicles were being tested and alter the harmful emissions that were produced and failed in emissions.

However, the Court found that not every measurement or emission control strategy is a defeat device.

“In order for a defeat device to be available, there must be a plan to make the emissions control system operate differently when it detects that it is being tested,” the judge said.

“Merely proving that the challenged mechanisms reduced the effectiveness of emission control systems without appropriate test conditions was not sufficient for the petitioners.”

As the plaintiffs’ lawyers pointed out, Judge Cockerall said, “If an alternative approach to the definition of ‘defeat device’ is taken, a large number of devices, including devices in the cars of each of the leading manufacturers, would stand.”

James Oldnall, managing partner at Milberg, which represents some of the claimants, said: “We are pleased that the court ruled that Mercedes, like Volkswagen, imposed illegal defeat devices.

“The fight in this case is not over, but the first domino has fallen. We are on the right track and will continue our push to hold these car manufacturers accountable.”

A further trial is scheduled for October of this year to determine the consequences of any actionable violations and any damages or other remedies.

This case examined only 20 sample vehicles made by Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Nissan, Ford, and Peugeot and Citroen. The wide portfolio includes models made by Opel and Vauxhall, Volkswagen and Porsche, Jaguar Land Rover, BMW, FCA and Suzuki, Volvo, Hyundai-Kia, Toyota and Mazda.

Dieselgate scandal It was first published in In September 2015, the US Environmental Protection Agency accused Volkswagen of installing software on diesel cars to reduce the cars’ nitrogen oxide emissions.

This software was discovered when cars underwent official emissions tests and turned on systems designed to reduce their output of nitrogen dioxide, which causes breathing problems.

But when the cars are used on the road, to improve the performance, the systems are turned off. The net result was that cars in everyday use produced much higher levels of pollution than official statistics indicated.

VW later admitted The defeat devices were used to deliberately avoid emissions tests in the US, and were installed in about 11 million cars worldwide.

He has paid £27.8bn worldwide in fines and scandals, mainly in the US. This adds up to £193m paid out to 91,000 British drivers.

As part of the High Court hearing in London, lawyers for the car owners cited a report by the Center for Energy and Clean Air Research.

Between 2009 and 2024, excess nitrogen oxides – produced by diesel engines – caused 124,000 premature deaths and 98,000 new cases of asthma in the UK and Europe between 2009 and 2024.