Britain's High Court on Friday rejected the majority of allegations in a long-running dieselgate lawsuit brought on behalf of 1.6 million UK vehicle owners, handing a significant victory to five lead automakers.
Justice Sara Cockerill ruled that the emissions-control strategies employed by Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Renault, Nissan, and Stellantis did not, in most instances, constitute prohibited defeat devices. The 15-week trial, which ran from October 2025 to March 2026, examined 20 selected vehicles from the five manufacturers. However, the court did identify potentially problematic devices in some Mercedes-Benz and Peugeot-Citroën models. The ruling binds both the lead defendants and other manufacturers.
A separate hearing scheduled for October will determine any compensation. The dieselgate scandal first emerged in September 2015.