A once-simmering relationship is now bubbling between Australia's consumer watchdog and the head of Volkswagen Group Australia over legal action surrounding the recall of diesel vehicles.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said Volkswagen had allegedly issued waivers to owners of affected diesel vehicles that indemnified the car-maker from any further action once the vehicle was repaired.
The ACCC chairman Rod Sims said on ABC Online that Volkswagen's actions were "outrageous" and asked Volkswagen owners who had received the waivers to contact the commission.
VGA managing director Michael Bartsch said the waivers were out-of-date forms that were issued by a dealer by mistake.
The war of words between the ACCC – that wants consumer restitution for owners of Volkswagen diesel vehicle that were subject to the global emission scandal – and VGA is heating up as a class action against Volkswagen prepares to head to court in October.
Legal firm Maurice Blackburn lodged an affidavit with the Federal Court last week that alleges VGA sent waivers to Volkswagen owners. The law firm is one of two involved in the case.
The allegation is that the waivers are worded to indemnify Volkswagen from any further action after the car is fixed.
Volkswagen was "very firm" in its position that it had not broken any emission laws in Australia.
In response, VGA's Michael Bartsch told reporters last week that Mr Sims' comments made on the ABC were "unfortunate" and that his company's relationship with the ACCC and other government agencies – including the department of infrastructure and regional development (DIRD) – is sound.
He said that each party "have certain interests that they need to protect" and termed the dealings as being "a professional, cordial relationship".
Instead, he turned his attention to the law firms Maurice Blackburn and Bannister Law by calling them "entrepreneurial litigants" who "would create an environment that is as favourable as they possibly make for their case".
Mr Bartsch said Volkswagen was "very firm" in its position that it had not broken any emission laws in Australia.
"Mr Sims is entitled to his opinion; however, what I can say is that every effort has been made and repeatedly made with our dealers, to make sure all the protocols are adhered to and vetted by our legal department, and we're constantly reinforcing that," he said.
On the alleged release of the waivers, Mr Bartsch said VGA has 103 dealers with 3000 employees "and there is always the exception to the rule".
He said the recall and repair of affected diesel vehicles in Australia was continuing with two-thirds of the vehicles now covered by voluntary recall notices.
VGA said there were a total of 90,000 affected vehicles in Australia and of that, about 14,500 – representing about 17 per cent – have been updated with new software.
Mr Bartsch said the the recall is in line with forecasts and is being carried out in conjunction with the vehicles' regular maintenance schedules.
He said the repair work had been approved by the DIRD, the ACCC and the German motor transport authority, KBA and did not affect the performance of the vehicle.
He said resale rates and depreciation rates of the affected Australian vehicle models were "still okay".
"Some 800,000 vehicles from two Japanese manufacturers were recalled last year – we have to put this into perspective."
Volkswagen last week said that the emission scandal could cost it $A21 billion in the US alone.
The car-maker also posted a net profit for 2016 of $A7 billion, up from its loss in 2015 of $A2.2 billion caused by the emission scandal.
Sales of the car-maker, including its affiliates such as Skoda, Porsche and Audi, were up four per cent in 2016 to $A300 billion.
No comments:
Post a Comment