BRAUNSCHWEIG (AFP) - A case pitting hundreds of thousands of owners of manipulated diesel cars demanding compensation opened against German car behemoth Volkswagen (VW) yesterday, four years after the country's largest post-war industrial scandal erupted.
The first hearing in what is likely to be a grinding, years-long trial began in Braunschweig, around 30km from VW's headquarters in the northern city of Wolfsburg.
Around 450,000 people have joined a first-of-its-kind grouped proceeding, introduced by lawmakers after the "dieselgate" emissions cheating scandal broke in 2015.
Consumer rights group VZBV, representing the plaintiffs, says the carmaker deliberately harmed buyers by installing software that let vehicles pollute far more on the road than under lab conditions.
"I would like Volkswagen to reimburse the purchase price," said customer Andreas Sarcletti, "but I'm worried the trial is going to last a very long time."
The trial is Germany's largest so far in the tentacular diesel scandal, which last week saw VW chief executive Herbert Diess charged with market manipulation over his role.
In the mass lawsuit, the most important of around 50 questions for judges is whether VW "caused harm" by acting "dishonestly".
"We're confident of our chances, since Volkswagen committed fraud," VZBV lawyer Ralph Sauer said ahead of the hearing.
But VW lawyer Martina de Lind van Wijngaarden said there was "no harm and no basis to this claim" because "hundreds of thousands of cars are used" on the roads without problem.
Even if judges find in favour of the plaintiffs, there will not be an immediate compensation payment. Rather, every owner registered in the trial will have to claim individually.
VW thinks a final judgment could arrive in 2023 at the earliest, if the case is appealed all the way to the Federal Court of Justice.
Individual proceedings could then take at least another year - in the court of first instance.
By then, the cars' market value could have further eroded, making a buy-back cheaper for the firm.
To avoid such delays, the VZBV says it is "open" to an out-of-court settlement but "in that case, VW would have to pay a significant sum after all", according to VZBV head Klaus Mueller.
In early July, judges noted in a preliminary opinion that some plaintiffs were living abroad. That could mean German law does not apply to them.
VW said 2 per cent of those listed live abroad and 10 per cent are duplicate entries. Alongside the grouped proceeding, 61,000 individual lawsuits have been filed in Germany, and some have already led to out-of-court settlements.
Since 2015, when VW admitted to manipulating 11 million vehicles worldwide to fool emissions tests, the scandal has cost the group over €30 billion (S$45 billion) in fines, compensation and legal costs.
Most of that sum has gone to the United States, while in Germany, VW has so far paid just €2.3 billion spread across three fines.
