On July 10, 2026, a High Court judge ruled that several major car manufacturers, including Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Nissan, Ford, and Peugeot-Citroen, did not install devices to cheat emissions tests. This ruling comes amid a lawsuit involving approximately 1.6 million motorists who alleged that their diesel vehicles contained prohibited defeat devices.
Details of the Court Ruling
The case, which examined 20 sample vehicles from the aforementioned manufacturers, concluded after a ten-week trial in March. Lady Justice Cockerill stated in her 369-page ruling that most of the allegations against the manufacturers were rejected. However, she noted that one defeat device in Mercedes vehicles was identified, which had been removed in 2015, and another in some Peugeot-Citroen cars.
The court found that the strategies employed by most manufacturers did not qualify as prohibited defeat devices. The ruling clarified that for a device to be classified as such, there must be an intention to manipulate emissions control systems during testing.
Responses from the Manufacturers
Following the ruling, Mercedes expressed satisfaction but disagreed with the court's assessment regarding compliance of one of its vehicles before a software update. A spokesperson stated, "In our view, the emission control software functionalities are justifiable on both technical and legal grounds. We are actively considering all of our available options, including a potential appeal." Meanwhile, Peugeot-Citroen has yet to comment on the outcome.
