German state government sues VW over diesel vehicles 

The government of Germany’s Baden-Wuerttemberg state has lodged a damages claim worth millions of euros against the carmaker Volkswagen (VW).

The complaint, which relates to 1,400 VW diesel vehicles bought by Baden-Wuerttemberg, was lodged at the end of 2018, a spokeswoman for the state Finance Ministry said Friday.

VW currently faces thousands of damages claims from its customers in Europe after it emerged it had manipulated the engines of its diesel vehicles to make them appear less polluting.

The Finance Ministry’s State Secretary Gisela Splett said the government is obliged act responsibly and carefully with taxpayer money.

The sum claimed by Baden-Wuerttemberg apparently amounts to tens of millions of euros, though an exact sum was not named.

The state bought or leased the vehicles for public service, mainly for the police force.

The carmaker believes that there is no legal basis for the claims of affected customers, a VW spokesman said on Friday.

“All affected vehicles are safe from a technical viewpoint and ready to drive. They can be used without restrictions in road traffic and continue to be sold.”

Source: dpa