BMW DIESEL EMISSIONS SCANDAL

We believe BMW installed defeat devices in certain Diesel cars that were designed to reduce emissions levels in a regulatory test environment. Without passing these tests, the cars would not have been cleared to drive on UK roads. Put simply, we believe BMW cheated the emissions tests. The software appears to have identified when the engine was operating under regulatory test conditions and reduced the levels of pollutants being pumped out so it passed the test. But this kind of environmental performance could never be replicated under real life driving conditions. The defeat devices used by BMW are different in their details to what Volkswagen used in the Dieselgate scandal but the effect (and we say, clearly the intention) was broadly the same.

Not directly. We believe all car manufacturers installed defeat devices differently so the technical case against BMW will be different. However, broadly speaking, we believe the settlement is a positive development for all emissions cases in this jurisdiction.

A defeat device is any element of design, software or hardware in a car which detects different vehicle conditions (e.g. temperature, vehicle speed, engine speed etc) and adjusts or disables the car’s emission control system. In the case of BMW (and VW, Mercedes and Vauxhall) the manufacturers appear to have written software into the computer unit that controls the engine.

The practical effect of a defeat device is that it can detect when it is in a test environment (because the tests have standard conditions which the defeat device can be designed to identify) and tell the engine it needs to reduce the emissions it is producing in order to pass that test.

By contrast, when the car is outside of a test environment (i.e., most if not all of the time), it recognises that and the vehicle pumps out unlawful levels of NOx and other pollutants without the driver realising.

The reason for using a defeat device appears to have been that the engines in question could not meet the emissions test and produce an acceptable consumer driving experience.

Assuming the claim succeeds, drivers that purchased, financed or leased a new or used Diesel BMW between 2009 and 2016 did so on a false premise and may be able to receive compensation.

These consumers had a reasonable expectation their car would meet certain environmental and performance standards. That’s what they were promised in the glove compartment handbook.

The reality was that the cars were far more polluting than drivers were told. They pumped more harmful substances like NOx into the atmosphere, which are known to cause thousands of premature deaths a year in the UK – academic research has also established that long-term exposure to air pollution increases the risk of serious infection and death from COVID 19. Unable to meet international emissions standards, these cars should never have been on the road.

The cars would also be worth less than the drivers paid for them (because BMW did not deliver an environmentally compliant car which also met performance expectations) and are worth even less today in the second-hand car market. Drivers were sold a combination of environmental impact and driving performance that was a fiction – it could never happen under normal conditions and BMW knew that.

Put simply, BMW did not provide the car drivers paid for.

We estimate that 500,000 UK drivers have purchased or leased a new or second-hand BMW during the period when we say BMW was cheating the tests. Each of these motorists could be eligible to claim compensation.

Drivers who bought a second-hand car may be eligible for compensation too.

This will depend on a range of factors including how much drivers paid for their car and how much harm the Court determines BMW caused by its behaviour. Under consumer protection laws, motorists could recover between 25% and 75% of the price of their vehicle depending on the severity of the misleading or aggressive practice or the difference between the market price of the product at the time of sale, and the price paid. This could be many thousands of pounds, even for second-hand owners. Purchasers of affected cars have already been awarded compensation in other countries. Below are some examples of pay outs in similar cases in other countries. Remember, however, that the English Courts are not bound by these decisions and will have to make their own calculation of loss for vehicle owners.

In the US, claimants received between US$5,000 and US$10,000 from VW and between US$822.50 and US$3,290 from Mercedes.

In Spain, VW claimants were awarded €3,000 each.

In Germany, there has been a large range of awards against VW ranging from €1,000 to tens of thousands of Euros for each claimant (against Daimler/Mercedes, awards of over €40,000 have been given).

In the Netherlands, a court declared that first-hand VW owners were entitled to €3,000 and second-hand VW owners were entitled to €1,500.

The Court determined that a Group Litigation Order (or ‘GLO’) is the most appropriate way to manage a claim and made a GLO in November 2023. The claim has been proceeding according to the terms of the GLO.

A GLO is a procedural mechanism that allows lots of claims with “common or related issues” of fact and/or law to be managed together as one case.

The GLO was ordered in 2023 and the case has been progressing as per the terms of that Order.

The Claimant firms have now served multiple iterations of the Group Register on the Defendants. The Group Register records the details of all Claimants bringing a claim against BMW and states which law firm they are being represented by.

As ordered by the Court, the Claimants have served their Outline Generic Particulars of Claim on the Defendants, which sets out our claim against them, and the Defendants have now filed their Outline Generic Defences, in which they have denied the claims against them.

The Court is actively managing the NOx emissions claims. Since there are 13 emissions cases against various manufacturers, the Court has appointed 4 cases to proceed as the ‘Lead GLOs’, which are Mercedes, Ford, Renault/Nissan and Peugeot/Citroen. It would be inefficient for all claims to proceed through the Courts at the same time with the possibility of different rulings in different cases and would be an extreme burden on Court and the Claimant law firms’ resources. The Lead GLOs are due to proceed to trial first while BMW and the other non-lead GLOs will essentially wait behind those cases. A factual trial is due to take place in October 2025 in the Lead GLOs to determine whether there are/were defeat devices in vehicles made and supplied by those manufacturers. We will keep you updated on the progress in these claims.

No.

The lawyers and other interested parties only get paid if there is a win at the end of the case (see above). If the claim is successful, the lawyers and other interested parties (including the litigation funder) are paid from the proceeds recovered from BMW. If the case is unsuccessful, the clients pay nothing.

Any costs that need to be paid up-front or along the way (e.g. barristers, Court fees and experts) are covered by a litigation funder. The litigation funder is paid back at the end of the case out of the lawyers’ share of the compensation – not the consumer’s (see below).

The lawyers are Milberg London, a leading firm for consumer and group litigation.

The case is being funded by a third-party litigation funder. The funder will pay for the hard costs associated in bringing the claim including court fees, barristers and experts. In addition, Milberg London are working on damages based fee agreements which means they do not charge fees unless and until there is a successful outcome in the case.  

Our legal team are working hard behind the scenes to progress your claim. We will endeavour to provide you with regular updates every 6 to 8 weeks with developments happening in your case.

In addition, you can always get in touch with your Case Manager for an update, email [email protected] or call us on 020 3824 6541.

There are a number of reasons why a vehicle may be ineligible:

• It was not manufactured within the relevant time period.
• It is not a model we have identified as being affected by the Diesel emissions scandal.
• We do not have enough information or documentation from you in order to validate your claim.

Unfortunately, the wheels of justice turn slowly, and group actions of this scale and complexity take many years to work their way through the Court system.

As noted above, BMW was not selected to be a Lead GLO, which are the cases that will proceed to trial first.

Please note that there is always the possibility that claims will settle before the Court process comes to an end, for example as with the settlement reached with VW in relation to the VW NOx Emissions Claim.

Please stick with us, we believe we will be successful and we are making good progress with lots of hard work going on behind the scenes.

That is not a problem. We believe you still have a valuable claim even though you have sold the vehicle. Your claim and loss will be based on the period you owned the car.