Fishmonger, Tiny Country Deliver Bad News to Volkswagen

by Steph Willems

Published: February 7th, 2017

fishmonger tiny country deliver bad news to volkswagen

Minus an ongoing criminal probe that has some executives, including the company’s former CEO, sweating bullets, Volkswagen has seen relatively little blowback from the emissions scandal in its home country.

Its emissions-rigged diesel vehicles continue to ply the roadways of the Continent, with nothing like the multi-billion-dollar American buyback scheme in sight. It’s not smooth sailing, however, as some burned customers have decided to come for their own pounds of flesh. This week, a company that knows all about flesh showed up in search of payback.

According to Reuters, Germany’s top fish and seafood manufacturer and distributor is suing the automaker after failing to reach an out-of-court settlement. Deutsche See operates two manufacturing plants and 23 subsidiaries, and leased 500 vehicles from VW.

Deutsche See takes great pride in its green credentials. The company was declared the most sustainable company in Germany in 2010, not long after the emissions-rigged diesels began rolling out of Wolfsburg. “Deutsche See only went into partnership with VW because VW promised the most environmentally friendly, sustainable mobility concept,” the company said in a statement.

Talks apparently went awry after VW replaced managers working on the case with lawyers and PR advisors. Now, the fish company just wants its money. It is demanding the euro equivalent of $12.8 million. That’s small herring compared to the billions spent in the U.S., but the Deutsche See case sets a precedent: it’s the first corporate lawsuit against VW in its home country, and could spark a wave of litigation.

Meanwhile, the postage stamp-sized country of Luxembourg has launched criminal proceedings against “unknown persons” at the automaker, Reuters reports. The country’s infrastructure ministry has declared Luxembourg “a victim of criminal action that led it to certify cars” from VW.

The move comes after the European Commission prodded seven countries into going after the automaker.

[Image: Volkswagen of America]

#Germany #LawAndOrder #Lawsuits #Volkswagen #VW

Steph Willems

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8 of 16 comments

Chris724 on Feb 07, 2017

Burned customers? In what way were any of the customers burned? The cars still work just fine.

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- Bikegoesbaa on Feb 07, 2017
  
  Here's a few: -They were defrauded, inasmuch as what they were told they were buying was not what was sold to them. If I buy X and then actually get Y that's fraud, regardless of whether it "works fine". -Loss of resale value -Time lost to dealing with dealer visits and recall related paperwork -Aggravation and uncertainty of not knowing the legal or technical status of a major purchase -Loss of prestige. Signaling status and values is one of the reasons that people buy a particular car; a diesel VW no longer does either of those things as well as it used to.
  
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- SCE to AUX on Feb 07, 2017
  
  The cars don't actually 'work just fine'. They pollute far worse than anyone was told. Controlling pollution is one function of a working automobile.
  
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- RobertRyan on Feb 07, 2017
  
  @SCE to AUX They are as bad as others. Cars work very well
  
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- RobertRyan on Feb 07, 2017
  
  @bikegoesbaa Still selling many diesel VW's. No problems there. VW has dropped it's tiny diesels 1.2 or 1.4 capacity as a petrol/ hybrid is just as efficient. It has increased the size of the larger.diesels to make them more efficient. "If I buy X and then actually get Y that’s fraud, regardless of whether it “works fine”. How many companies are guilty of that?
  
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- 05lgt on Feb 07, 2017
  
  If they had asthma, copd, or other pulmonary diseases, it may have aided in killing them. That's a burn.
  
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- Jalop1991 on Feb 07, 2017
  
  @RobertRyan The cars don't work "very well" at all. They fail at a major purpose for which they were intended. If I fill your crankcase with water, will you be happy? Because water is great. Love it. Works fine. But not for the purpose for which I intended it, which is lubrication of your engine. The cars don't work fine at all.
  
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NeilM on Feb 07, 2017

"Major shareholder and former CEO Piech reportedly already testified against Winterkorn." Piëch is one of the Family, so obviously it's Winterkorn who gets thrown under the (diesel) bus.

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