Volkswagen sued by first major German customer over dieselgate

The first major German company to challenge Volkswagen over the dieselgate emissions scandal is taking is taking its case to court.

Fish distribution company Deutsche See is suing VW for misrepresenting a fleet of around 500 vehicles it leased, saying the car maker wrongly claimed that its cars were environmentally friendly.

According to reports on Reuters, Deutsche See had been seeking to settle the case out of court but was unable to reach an outcome. German newspaper Bild said Deutsche See’s resulting court case was for ​€11.9 million (about Rs 91 crore).

Managing director of Deutsche See Egbert Miebach said, "We are deeply disappointed with VW and feel we have been deceived, as the jointly envisaged partnership in the area of environmentally friendly mobility was only adhered to by our side.

“Corresponding conversations to change this were blocked by VW. Deutsche See is committed to sustainability in all areas of the company, so we filed a complaint against Volkswagen AG on 3 February 2017.”

Up to this point Volkswagen hasn’t been sued by any company from its home country. The car maker, which recently overtook Toyota as the world’s biggest manufacturer, has faced its heaviest sanctions in the US.

The emissions scandal has cost VW close to £17.5 billion (Rs 172,252 crore) so far.