The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched a Federal Court action against Volkswagen and its Australian subsidiary over the diesel emissions scandal that has engulfed the company on a global scale.
The ACCC is alleging the companies engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct, made false or misleading representations and engaged in conduct liable to mislead the public in relation to diesel vehicle emission claims.
The action covers 10 brands including Volkswagen's biggest selling models: the Golf, Passat, Polo and Amarok.
The ACCC alleges that between 2011 and 2015 Volkswagen engaged in misleading conduct by installing and not disclosing the existence and operation of "defeat" software, which controlled the operation of the vehicles' exhaust gas recirculation system.
"The software caused the vehicles to produce lower nitrogen oxide emissions when subject to test conditions in a laboratory, but switched to a different mode under normal, on-road driving conditions, resulting in significantly higher emissions being produced by the vehicles," the ACCC said in a statement.
"Both Volkswagen Australia and VWAG [the German parent] engaged in misleading conduct by representing that the vehicles complied with Australian and European standards and all Australian regulatory requirements when, because of the defeat software, that was not the case.
Vehicles covered by the ACCC's proceedings:
Amarok 2.0 litre – 2011 to 2012
Caddy 1.6 and 2.0 litre – 2010 to 2015
Eos 2.0 litre – 2009 to 2014
Golf 1.6 and 2.0 litre – 2009 to 2013
Jetta 1.6 and 2.0 litre – 2009 to 2015
Passat 2.0 litre – 2008 to 2015
Passat CC 2.0 litre – 2008 to 2012
Polo 1.6 litre – 2009 to 2014
Tiguan 2.0 litre – 2008 to 2015
CC 2.0 litre – 2011 to 2015
"Using information provided by VWAG, Volkswagen Australia marketed the vehicles in Australia as being environmentally friendly, clean-burning, low-emission and compliant with stringent European standards when this was not the case under normal driving conditions."
The emissions scandal erupted in September last year when the US Environmental Protection Agency discovered many Volkswagen cars sold in America were fitted with software controlling their diesel engines that could detect when they were being tested and lower emissions during the tests.
The scandal spread rapidly, with Volkswagen — the world's second largest vehicle producer — admitting around 11 million vehicles worldwide were affected.
Volkswagen has so far set aside $25 billion as part of a global recall program to fix the problem.
Volkswagen America chief executive Michael Horn was famously quoted as saying: "We've totally screwed up".
ACCC chairman Rod Sims said the allegations involved extraordinary conduct of a serious and deliberate nature by a global corporation and its Australian subsidiary, misleading consumers and the Australian public.
"The ACCC alleges Volkswagen engaged in multiple breaches of Australian consumer law by concealing software in their vehicles to cheat emissions testing and misleading consumers about the vehicle's compliance with standards and emission levels during on-road conditions," Mr Sims said.
"Consumers rightly expect that their vehicle's emissions would operate as advertised during their day-to-day use.
"We allege that this was not the case with more than 57,000 vehicles sold in Australia by Volkswagen over a five-year period."
Each contravention under the act carries a maximum penalty of $1.1 million, with the court having discretion to assess how many contraventions will be considered and the ultimate scale of the penalties.
Volkswagen is also facing a series of private class actions from Australian consumers which are currently before the Federal Court in relation to Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda branded vehicles.
In a statement, Volkswagen Australia said the ACCC's action did not provide any practical benefit to consumers.
It said new software for the cars affected by the recall was expected to be approved by Federal Government agencies by the end of the year.
"The best outcome for customers whose vehicle is affected is to have the voluntary recall service updates installed," Volkswagen Australia managing director Michael Bartsch said.
Volkswagen Australia said it is now reviewing the claims made by the ACCC.
It is also defending class action suits brought by private plaintiffs in the Federal Court.
The action brought by the EPA in the US carries penalties of up to $US37,500 per vehicle, or about $US18 billion.
The US Trade Commission is also suing Volkswagen for making fraudulent claims and false advertising.
Source: 
Volkswagen emissions scandal: VW taken to court by ACCC over diesel data - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
