
Volkswagen's Dieselgate scandal involved the company violating the law in 20 European Union countries by cheating emissions tests. The company designed its cars to meet the exact legal requirements of the tests, but the cars failed to conform to the law in practice. The scandal may have involved Volkswagen breaking two sets of rules that apply across the EU.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of laws broken | 2 |
| Number of countries in which laws were broken | 20 |
| Nature of the violation | Cheating emissions tests |
Explore related products
What You'll Learn

Volkswagen violated the law in 20 European Union countries
The scandal, known as Dieselgate, involved Volkswagen designing their cars to meet the exact legal requirement to pass emissions tests. However, they failed to conform to the law as their cars did not meet emissions standards in all reasonable driving modes. This was a case of "spirit of the law versus the letter of the law", where Volkswagen technically passed the tests but cheated to do so, and their cars' performance did not match their advertisements.
Consumer groups have shown that VW has not been providing sufficient information to consumers. The EU Consumer Commissioner Vera Jourova called the Dieselgate emissions crisis a European challenge, emphasising that the laws set high standards for all member states to enforce in case of breaches.
Fusion and the Law of Conservation of Energy: Friend or Foe?
You may want to see also
Explore related products

The company may have broken two sets of rules that apply across the EU
Volkswagen's Dieselgate scandal may have seen the company break two sets of rules that apply across the EU. The European Commission said the automaker may have violated the law in 20 European Union countries because of its emissions cheating.
The scandal may go deeper as the Commission was looking to see if the automaker broke not just one, but two sets of rules that apply across the EU. Consumer groups and others have shown that VW has not been providing sufficient information to consumers.
The laws set high standards for all member states to enforce in case these rules are breached. It seems that VW cheated on the tests, which means that they failed by default, even if their answers were correct. The tests matched the test cycle but not the performance of the overall car, which is what the advertisements alleged.
VW designed their cars to meet the exact legal requirement. They never made claims other than that their cars had passed the tests.
George Floyd's Arrest: What Law Was Broken?
You may want to see also
Explore related products

VW failed to provide sufficient information to consumers
Volkswagen's Dieselgate scandal involved the company violating the law in 20 European Union countries because of its emissions cheating. The company was found to have designed their cars to meet the exact legal requirement to pass emissions tests, but the cars failed to conform to the law in practice. This was a case of "spirit of the law versus the letter of the law", where VW failed to provide sufficient information to consumers about the true emissions levels of their cars. Consumer groups have shown that VW has not been proving sufficient information to consumers, with the company only claiming that their cars had passed the tests, without providing further details. This has led to accusations of VW violating two sets of rules that apply across the EU, with the European Commission emphasising the need for high standards and fair communication with the company.
Charging Lawbreakers: Understanding the Process of Criminal Accusation
You may want to see also
Explore related products

The company cheated emissions tests
Volkswagen's Dieselgate scandal involved the company cheating emissions tests. The European Commission said the automaker may have violated the law in 20 European Union countries because of its emissions cheating. The Commission was looking to see if the automaker broke not just one, but two sets of rules that apply across the EU.
The laws set high standards for all member states to enforce in case these rules are breached. In recent weeks, consumer groups and others have shown that VW has not been providing sufficient information to consumers. The company's cars were designed to meet the exact legal requirement to pass the tests. However, the law was intended to ensure cars met emissions standards in all reasonable driving modes.
While Volkswagen's cars passed the tests, they failed to conform to the law. This is because the tests did not match the performance of the overall car, which is what the advertisements alleged. As a result, the company cheated on the emissions tests.
Bloomberg's Florida Fiasco: Legal or Illegal?
You may want to see also
Explore related products

Volkswagen failed to conform to the law
Consumer groups and others have shown that VW has not been providing sufficient information to consumers. The automaker may have also violated the laws in 20 nations, according to the European Commission.
Volkswagen designed their cars to meet the exact legal requirement to pass the tests. However, they never made claims other than their cars had passed the tests. This is a "spirit of the law versus the letter of the law" issue, as the law was intended to ensure cars met emissions standards in all reasonable driving modes. By cheating on the tests, Volkswagen failed to conform to the law.
Piracy: Breaking International Maritime Laws and You
You may want to see also
Frequently asked questions
Volkswagen broke the law in 20 European Union countries because of its emissions cheating.
Volkswagen designed their cars to meet the exact legal requirements of the tests, but the cars did not conform to the law in practice.
Volkswagen only ever claimed that their cars had passed the tests.
Yes, the European Commission indicated that the scandal might go deeper, as they were looking to see if Volkswagen broke not just one, but two sets of rules that apply across the EU.
Vera Jourova called the Dieselgate emissions crisis a European challenge, emphasising that the laws set high standards for all member states to enforce in case these rules are breached.

































