The ‘dieselgate’ lawsuit against five major carmakers is about to begin.

The High Court will consider emissions ‘cheat’ devices that lowered the real output of cars when under test conditions. The carmakers; Ford, Mercedes, Nissan, Peugeot/Citroën and Renault; now face the largest class action in English and Welsh legal history. If the case succeeds, then other carmakers could be sued too.

The High Court ruled against VW five years ago, and the company settled out of court. Globally, the cost to VW nearly put the company in jeopardy.

But whilst VW settled, the five manufacturers currently in court have denied all wrongdoing. It will, undoubtedly, be a complex case, with some saying that the software used us an acceptable method to provide data as required by the tests, complying with regulations at the time, others that there could have been a deliberate intent to mislead. A judgement is not expected to be reached quickly.

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