The Federal Court has ordered Volkswagen do Brasil to pay 15 million reais in collective moral damages due to fraud in the environmental approval process for diesel vehicles produced in the country in 2011 and 2012.
The ruling, published on the 5th, was based on a public civil action filed by the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) against the company. The company may still appeal the decision.
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According to the MPF, in more than 17,000 units of the Amarok pickup truck manufactured during that period, the automaker installed software that circumvented emissions tests, thereby enabling the sale of vehicles that released nitrogen oxides at levels exceeding those permitted in the country.
"The causal link between the defendant's conduct – the deliberate installation of a 'defeat device' [software that circumvented tests] – and the collective environmental damage is clearly demonstrated. The defendant's conduct was the direct cause of the fraudulent acquisition of environmental licenses, the circulation of non-compliant vehicles, and the resulting excessive emissions of NOx [nitrogen oxides] during the period of use," states the ruling by substitute federal judge Maurilio Freitas Maia de Queiroz of the 12th Federal Civil Court of São Paulo.
According to the judge, Volkswagen do Brasil's claim that it did not participate in the development of the software, and that this was the responsibility of the German parent company, "does not exempt..."
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The Federal Court has sentenced Volkswagen do Brasil to pay R$ 15 million in collective moral damages due to fraud in the environmental approval process for diesel vehicles produced in the country in 2011 and 2012.
The sentence, published on the 5th, was motivated by a public civil action filed by the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) against the company. The company can still appeal the decision.
According to the MPF, in more than 17,000 units of the Amarok pickup truck manufactured during that period, the automaker installed software that circumvented emissions tests, thereby enabling the sale of vehicles that released nitrogen oxides at levels above what is permitted in the country.
"The causal link between the defendant's conduct—the deliberate installation of a 'defeat device' [software that circumvented tests]—and the collective environmental damage is clearly demonstrated. The defendant's conduct was the direct cause of the fraudulent acquisition of environmental licenses, the circulation of non-compliant vehicles, and the resulting excess of NOx [nitrogen oxides] emissions during the period of use," stated the text of the sentence by substitute federal judge Maurilio Freitas Maia de Queiroz of the 12th Federal Civil Court of São Paulo.
According to the judge, Volkswagen do Brasil's claim that it did not participate in the development of the software, and that this was the responsibility of the German parent company, "does not exclude its responsibility."
"Volkswagen do Brasil imported, marketed, and put into circulation in the national market vehicles equipped with the prohibited device," the judge added.
When contacted, the company has not yet commented. The space is open for Volkswagen do Brasil to publish its position.
The MPF appealed the decision to double the amount of the penalty.
"In the original requests, the MPF already requested the setting of R$ 30 million for compensation, an amount corresponding to the severity of Volkswagen's conduct. The company's practices violated resolutions of the National Council on the Environment (Conama), laws, and the Constitution itself, causing environmental damage that continues to this day due to vehicles that remain in circulation," the MPF stated in a note.