AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)06/02 Report--

The Volkswagen emission gate is fermenting again, and two counties, Salt Lake City County and Hillsboro County, have sued Volkswagen Group in the Ninth Circuit, claiming that the vehicles involved in the "emission gate" harmed the local environment, according to a new report by Reuters.

On the issue of emissions, Volkswagen Group has just encountered a lawsuit in Europe, but the United States has also joined the ranks of plaintiffs. It is understood that on June 1, the Ninth Circuit Court of the United States formally opened a hearing on the above case and ruled against Volkswagen Group. The three judges hearing the case agreed that there was no provision in the Clean Air Act that "local governments cannot have jurisdiction over carmakers."

With regard to the above results, Volkswagen said it would seek an appeal from the Ninth Circuit or further review by the U.S. Supreme Court, saying that "this ruling conflicts with the findings of other courts."

According to the report, in the prosecution cases in the above two counties alone, at least 6100 Volkswagen diesel vehicles used illegal software, meaning Volkswagen Group will face a fine of $30.5 million a day and a fine of up to $11.133 billion a year.

If Volkswagen's appeal is unsuccessful, there is no doubt that the huge fine is another blow.

The Volkswagen Group was exposed by the US Environmental Protection Agency in September 2015 for fraud in diesel exhaust testing and accused Volkswagen of installing illegal software in its vehicles and deliberately circumventing US vehicle emission regulations. the actual pollutant emissions of some vehicles can be up to 40 times the legal standard. Volkswagen finally pleaded guilty and reached a settlement agreement with the United States in 2016, under which Volkswagen Group bought back some of its diesel vehicles and had to pay a total of $25 billion in compensation / fines to car owners and environmental protection agencies. at the same time, $4.3 billion in criminal and civil fines were paid to the Justice Department.

Since Volkswagen Group has already reached a settlement with the United States authorities, Volkswagen's response to the above case is that "this ruling conflicts with the findings of other courts."

Volkswagen Group has lost 31.3 billion euros (about 240.3 billion yuan) in the emissions cheating scandal so far, according to data released by Volkswagen in 2020. Volkswagen expects the losses to last until 2021, and the group says it is ready for the money.

Just before the local government sued in the United States, Volkswagen lost the class action brought by German car owners. The German Supreme Court ruled that Volkswagen must pay compensation to the victim or buy back the diesel car at a discount.

To make matters worse, other Volkswagen consumers in Europe are still trying to sue for their rights.

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