LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) – Some of the world’s biggest carmakers on Friday broadly won the first stage of a mammoth legal battle over whether some of their diesel vehicles contained prohibited “defeat devices” which limited emissions control systems.
Judge Sara Cockerill said in a summary of her ruling that she had “rejected most of the principal allegations advanced against the manufacturers whose vehicles were examined at trial”.
The ruling followed a trial which focused on 20 sample vehicles produced by five manufacturers: Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Nissan, Renault and the Stellantis-owned brands Peugeot and Citroen.
Cockerill also said in her summary that she had made some adverse findings, including a finding that a “split mode” of combustion in a Citroen vehicle amounted to a defeat device.
The mammoth trial which began in October was the most significant hearing yet in 13 groups of lawsuits brought by around 1.6 million claimants.
Friday’s ruling related to test cases involving five carmakers, but will also be binding on another 800,000 or so similar claims against other manufacturers.
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; editing by William James)
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