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On March 29, the number of lawsuits related to the Dieselgate scandal against Volkswagen surged dramatically when the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Volkswagen’s North American division. The claim asserts that the company engaged in severe instances of false advertising by promoting their diesel vehicles as “clean.”
According to the FTC, Volkswagen exploited the environmentally-conscious sentiment of potential buyers, advertising their diesel cars as eco-friendly, despite evidence showing that these vehicles emitted pollutants at levels up to 40 times exceeding legal limits. The FTC contends that Volkswagen’s assertions claiming the diesel cars were “low-emission, environmentally friendly, met emissions standards, and would retain a high resale value” were unequivocally false. Additionally, the complaint indicates that Volkswagen continued its advertising campaigns even after the revelations about the cars’ excessive emissions emerged in 2014.
“For years, Volkswagen promoted the company’s ‘Clean Diesel’ vehicles, even while it appears they installed devices to cheat emissions tests,” stated Edith Ramirez, chairperson of the FTC, in a press release.
The advertising efforts encompassed both Volkswagen and Audi models and constituted a significant part of a high-profile, multi-platform marketing strategy. Commercials and advertisements featuring the diesel models were widely disseminated online, in print media, and on television—even making an appearance during the Super Bowl XLIV in 2010.
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