On October 10, 2015, Volkswagen announced the recall of 1,950 vehicles in China to correct the engine control software. However, the company has not received any administrative punishment from China for this incident. Only on October 12, 2015, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment announced that it will "closely monitor it". The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine issued a risk warning notice to the market, urging Volkswagen (China) to implement the recall plan and remind car owners to properly dispose of it as soon as possible.
Since November 2015, China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation(CBCGDF) has filed an environmental public interest lawsuit with Volkswagen (China) Sales Co., Ltd. in Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People's Court. The case is aimed at Volkswagen's "emission" scandal. On December 10, 2015, the environmental public interest litigation case between CBCGDF and German Volkswagen for excessive emissions was filed in Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People's Court. This case is the first environmental public interest litigation filed by CBCGDF against air pollution, especially motor vehicle pollution, and it is also the first environmental public interest litigation case in Tianjin.
In the past few years, Volkswagen has successively borne huge fines in the United States, Germany, Australia and other countries, and made huge compensation and apologies to local consumers. In China, not to mention huge fines and compensation to Chinese consumers, there is not even an apology to consumers. At that time, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency uncovered the emissions fraud case of Volkswagen diesel vehicles, and then Volkswagen admitted that 11 million diesel vehicles were involved worldwide, of which 1950 were sold to the Chinese market.
Over the years, CBCGDF has been adhering to the belief that the health of Chinese consumers and Chinese people is important. CBCGDF believes that Volkswagen has aggravated air pollution due to its illegal behavior. It should apologize to the public in the national media and compensate the environmental pollution damage. It should be ordered to take measures or take alternative restoration measures to restore the polluted and damaged environment. The court has held several sessions, but Volkswagen's attitude has not changed. It insisted that the vehicles involved in the lawsuit were different from those in the United States, and that China's smog was serious, and the exhaust emissions would not pollute the environment.
Due to the cheating software, the nitrogen oxide emissions of cars during normal driving far exceeded the value claimed by the car manufacturer and the defendant, thus polluting the atmosphere, which is one of the main culprits of heavy pollution weather such as smog.
As the defendant, in order to pursue low cost and high profit, German Volkswagen intentionally manufactured substandard cars, maliciously circumvented the supervision of Chinese laws and regulations, aggravated air pollution, harmed the health of the people, violated social public interests, and violated the Law of the People's Republic of China on Product Quality, Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, Law of the PRC on Tort Liability, etc. have caused serious environmental damage and should bear the legal responsibility for environmental torts.
On July 14, 2020, the Tianjin Higher People's Court accepted the Air Pollution Environmental Public Interest Litigatio case between CBCGDF and Volkswagen (China) Sales Co., Ltd. On January 18, 2022, the two parties finally reached a mediation agreement.
References:
1.http://www.cbcgdf.org/ProjectShow/5029/613.html
2.http://www.cbcgdf.org/NewsShow/4854/5577.html
3.https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1669040731320294847
4.http://res.cenews.com.cn/hjw/news.html?aid=224276
5.https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1722914203099650832
Translator: Daisy
Checked by Sara
Editor: Daisy
Contact: v10@cbcgdf.org; +8617319454776
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