Volkswagen has been sued by the United States' Federal Trade Commission (FTC) claiming that it tricked customers with its Clean Diesel advertisements run from 2008 to 2015 when it was hacking the onboard software of its diesel cars to cheat on emissions tests. The German carmaker was advertising its vehicles' diesel engines as being eco-friendly when their nitrogen oxide emissions were 4,000 percent higher than the legal limit.
The suit was filed in a US district court in San Francisco. It claims that consumers suffered billions of dollars worth of injury due to VW's false claims.
FTC's suit demands that VW compensate its customers who it deceived and start making honest advertisements, according to Engadget. VW has not officially stated how it will respond to the FTC's demands, but told Reuters it is working with federal regulators.
It is highly likely that the FTC will win the court case. However, what it is unclear is the settlement figure the feds will request from VW that includes hundreds of thousands of US car buyers who bought the company's turbocharged direct injection (TDI) vehicles.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice (DOJ) sued VW for $46 billion in January for breaking environmental laws. The auto company is also facing over 400 civil lawsuits related to high diesel emissions.
In related news VW has recalled e-Golf electric vehicles (EVs) sold in the US since 2014. Almost 5,600 EVs were recalled over battery safety issues that could cause the vehicles to shut down, according to The Guardian.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported on March 28, Monday that the problem was due to a software glitch. VW has been promoting its EVs after last year's emissions scandal.
VW claims it was first informed about the stalling issue in early 2015. However, in recent months it has received new complaints from the US market, which resulted in the car recall.
Last year a German newspaper reported that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asked VW to make electric cars at its Chattanooga, Tennessee plant and build a network of charging stations in the US as a way to make up for rigging emission tests.
Here are some Clean Diesel ads: