Dieselgate trial begins
14th October 2025
Images: Ron Fassbender
Yesterday we gathered at the Royal Courts of Justice on day one of the Pan NOx emissions High Court trial, to show why car manufacturers need to be held to account, and why the Government must finally act on this decade-long scandal.
We had a great volunteer turnout - thank you to everyone who re-arranged their days and school drop-offs to be able to join us at 8am on a grey Monday morning. We were featured live on ITV News as we stood shoulder-to-shoulder holding up our eye-catching pink banner. Thanks also to those who supported us from Asthma and Lung UK, Clean Cities, Client Earth, Global Action Plan, Green School Runs, and to Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah who came along in support as well.
The Dieselgate trial is the biggest ever group claim trial in English legal history. Involving 1.6 million vehicle owners and 13 of the biggest car manufacturing groups operating in the UK, the trial is examining the use of so-called “prohibited defeat devices” (PDD) by the five lead defendants in the case: Mercedes, Ford, Peugeot/Citroen, Renault and Nissan.
Image: Ron Fassbender
Thomas de la Mare KC, acting for the vehicle owners, opened with this:
“Each player in the industry basically took a conscious decision that customer convenience, which helped the industry sell more cars, was more important (than preventing pollution).”
Dieselgate: the health scandal
Between 2009 and 2024, excess diesel emissions caused a staggering estimated 16,000 premature deaths, 30,000 cases of asthma in children and 800,000 days of sick leave, according to a report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. The scandal is ongoing - there are still millions of diesel cars on the UK's roads today emitting suspiciously high levels of air pollution, and car manufacturers have never been properly held to account in the UK.
We will be following the trial as it progresses with interest. It is due to conclude in December, but legal arguments will not be heard until March 2026, with a judgment not expected until Summer 2026.
If the result of the trial is compensation for car owners, this will not remove the cars and their emissions from our roads. Little lungs will continue to pay for Dieselgate unless the Government sanctions car manufacturers, and removes these cars entirely.
Images: Ron Fassbender