Volkswagen should pay compensation to owners of vehicles with rigged diesel engines in Germany, a court ruled on Monday, pushing a fresh blow to the automaker nearly five years after its emissions scandal emerged.
The ruling by Germany’s highest court for civil disputes, which will allow owners to return vehicles for a partial refund of the purchase cost, serves as a template for about 60,000 lawsuits that are currently pending with lower German courts.
Volkswagen admitted in September 2015 to evade emissions tests on diesel engines, a scandal which has already cost it over 30 billion euros ($33 billion) in regulatory fines and vehicle refits, largely in the United States.
U.S. authorities banned the affected vehicles following the discovery of the cheat software, triggering claims for compensation.
But in Europe vehicles remained on the roads, leading the automaker to argue compensation claims saying they were without merit. European officials have instead forced the automaker to update its engine control software and fined it for fraud and administrative lapses.
Volkswagen stated on Monday it would work urgently with motorists on an agreement that would see them hold on to the vehicles for a one-off compensation payment.
It did not provide an estimate of how much the ruling by the German federal court, the Bundesgerichtshof (BGH), might cost it.
A Volkswagen spokesman said that outside the country, there are over 100,000 claims for damages were still pending, of which 90,000 cases were in the UK.
The automaker also said it had paid out a total of 750 million euros ($826 million) to over 200,000 separate claimants in Germany who had opted against individual claims and instead joined a class action lawsuit brought by a consumer group in Germany.
The automaker stated last month it would set aside about 830 million for that deal.
In a separate court, Volkswagen agreed last week to pay 9 million euros ($9.92 million) to put an end to proceedings against its chairman and chief executive, who were alleged of withholding market-moving information prior to the times when emissions scandal came to light.
