IIn the diesel scandal and the dispute over thermal windows, the Schleswig Administrative Court once again ruled in favor of environmentalists and against the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) on Wednesday. The court ruled that the KBA wrongly granted approval for a subsequent software update for 62 older model variants from the car manufacturers Volkswagen, Audi and Seat with the EA189 engine of the Euro 5 emissions standard. The authority's release notices for the affected diesel vehicles from 2016 are unlawful. If the judgment becomes final, the KBA is obliged to take appropriate measures to restore lawful conditions, according to a statement from the court.
Environmental aid called for “immediate hardware retrofitting to be ordered or the affected cars to be shut down with compensation for customers at the expense of the car manufacturer.” According to environmental aid, millions of vehicles are affected. The decision is the latest link in a chain of legal disputes over inadmissible defeat devices that went all the way to the European Court of Justice.
Wednesday's ruling builds on the ECJ's consumer-friendly case law on thermal windows. Last year, the Schleswig Administrative Court had already decided, citing this, that installing the software update was inadmissible. Last year, however, it was only about VW Golf models.
From VW's perspective, the ruling, which now covers dozens of older models from various brands from the Volkswagen Group, is “just as flawed and unfounded” as the ruling from last year. The KBA and Volkswagen have already appealed against the decision from February 2023. “We will also appeal against today’s ruling,” announced a VW spokesman. The thermal window tested and confirmed by the KBA is permitted without change. There is no threat of official shutdowns of vehicles, nor are hardware retrofits necessary. (File number: 3 A 332/20)
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