Five major carmakers have largely won the first stage of a major legal battle at a High Court case brought by around 1.6 million claimants in the UK over allegations that their diesel vehicles were fitted with unlawful "defeat devices" that led to higher emissions.
The court rejected most of the claims against Mercedes, Ford, Peugeot-Citroën, Renault and Nissan, ruling that the emissions-control strategies used in most of the vehicles examined did not amount to illegal "defeat devices" under UK regulations.
The case centred on 20 sample vehicles, with claimants arguing the manufacturers used software to reduce emissions during official tests while allowing higher emissions in normal driving. The court found that a prohibited defeat device requires an intention to make the emissions-control system behave differently during testing, and that not all calibration strategies breach the rules.
Lawyers representing the claimants said they were considering a possible appeal against Friday's ruling, which they said "adopted a significantly narrower interpretation of the law than that applied elsewhere in Europe".
However, the judgment identified some exceptions. The court found that a device used in certain Mercedes vehicles, later removed through a software update in 2015, breached the regulations. It also ruled against a "split-injection" emissions strategy used in some Peugeot-Citroën Euro 5 diesel models.
A Mercedes-Benz spokesperson welcomed the ruling, saying the court had found "very largely in favour" of the company. However, the automaker said it disagreed with the finding against it and was considering its options, including a possible appeal.
Stellantis-owned brands Peugeot and Citroen said only one allegation was upheld against it and it was considering the possibility of seeking leave to appeal.
"Stellantis maintains its firm position that all its vehicles comply with applicable emissions regulations," the manufacturer said in a statement.
A further trial is scheduled for October to determine the legal consequences of those findings and assess any potential damages.
The case is the largest group litigation in the history of England and Wales and follows the wider Volkswagen Dieselgate scandal, in which the German carmaker admitted cheating emissions tests and later settled claims brought by UK motorists.
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