VW drivers short-changed by UK gov’t in emissions scandal fallout, say MPs [Updated]

Volkswagen has been let off the hook by the UK government over the emissions cheating scandal because it has failed to force the car maker to compensate British drivers, a committee of MPs has concluded in a scathing report.

Without proper sanctions for the fraudulent way VW reported its emissions, the House of Commons transport select committee believes there is no serious way to prevent other unscrupulous car manufacturers from following suit and cheating their own testing.

In a report on the way the government handled last year's worldwide scandal, in which VW was found to be installing software on its vehicles in order to pretend they were significantly less polluting than in reality, the cross-party committee urged the British government to investigate—and consider prosecuting—the car maker for its deception, and to fight for compensation for customers, as has been the case in the US.

Labour chair of the committee Louise Ellman MP was scathing both of VW and the government's department for transport (DfT). She said:

Volkswagen Group has acted cynically to cheat emissions tests which exist solely to protect human health. Volkswagen's evidence to us was just not credible but the government has lacked the will to hold VW accountable for its actions. There is a real danger that VW will be able to get away with cheating emissions tests in Europe if regulators do not act.

Vehicle owners have been refused goodwill payments. That is despite VW inflicting a great deal of uncertainty on its own customers along with the prospect of declining residual values and the inconvenience of having to undergo repairs.

We are concerned that VW's fix was developed at the lowest possible cost which might lead to increased costs for motorists down the line. We have called upon the Vehicle Certification Agency to do everything in its power to ensure that does not happen.

MPs on the transport panel have called for major reforms in the regulatory process in the UK. While they welcomed the move to introduce "real driving emissions tests," and beef up the lab tests for fuel consumption, the politicos said they were disappointed that legal limits hadn't been set lower, considering scientific evidence than NOx (nitrogen oxide) emissions could be cut much faster.

The report accused the government of trying to pass the buck onto the European Union, and insisted it was a matter for the UK to deal with. However, none of the committee's recommendations are legally binding, meaning VW owners hoping for compensation are still at the mercy of the government.

Last year, VW was found by US authorities to have deliberately cheated pollution tests on a total of 11 million cars around the world—1.2 million of which were in the UK. The German manufacturer could face unlimited fines if it is found to have recklessly knowingly falsified data on its cars in order to sell them.

VW has blamed the use of what are known as “defeat devices” on a “few rogue engineers,” although results are yet to be released on a wide-ranging external investigation from law firm Jones Day, the publication of which has been pushed back.

Ars sought comment from VW and the DfT on this story, but neither party had immediately got back to us at time of publication.

The DfT, among other things, was accused by MPs on the committee of failing to quickly reach an agreement on the "fine detail" of the new emissions tests. It said: "the department for transport must do everything in its power to ensure that they are implemented with sufficient stringency. Little was done to address the emissions gap before the Volkswagen Group emissions scandal drew public attention to the deficiencies in current tests."

Update

VW and the DfT responded to requests for comment from Ars following publication of this story.

“We take the unacceptable actions of VW extremely seriously, and we have taken robust action to protect the UK consumer. That is why we called for a  Europe-wide investigation, and were the first country in Europe to complete our own tests to ensure the issue was not industry-wide. We continue to push VW to ensure they take action," a spokesperson at the DfT said.

“We led the way in pushing for the introduction of the Real Driving Emissions test that starts next year, which will ensure that emissions measurements reflect real-world performance, improve air quality and give consumers confidence. This new test is robust and will make a real difference. We are also starting further testing of products on the market and will set out more detail in due course.”

VW said in a statement:

There is no buy-back deal or compensation for drivers outside the US. That is because the relevant facts and complex legal issues that have played a role in coming to these agreements are materially different from those in Europe and other parts of the world.

Regulations governing nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions limits for vehicles in the United States are much stricter than those in other parts of the world and the engine variants also differ significantly. This makes the development of technical measures in the United States more challenging than in Europe and other parts of the world, where implementation of an approved program to modify TDI vehicles to comply fully with UN/ECE and European emissions standards has already begun by agreement with the relevant authorities.

In Europe, Volkswagen has been able to agree with the authorities responsible for the issue of an action plan for the modification of the affected vehicles. The vehicles will fully comply with emission standards. Implementation of these measures has also already begun.