French court rejects VW's request to dismiss charges in 'dieselgate'

The Paris Court of Appeal on Wednesday rejected a request by German carmaker Volkswagen to dismiss charges of deception in a diesel-emissions probe in France, Agence France Presse reported on Wednesday, citing a source close to the matter.

Volkswagen had argued it could not be charged a second time, having been hit with a €1bn (roughly R19,383,912,650) fine in Germany in 2018 in the same case, the source said.

Neither Volkswagen France nor the court could be reached for immediate comment.

Volkswagen admitted in 2015 that about 11-million cars worldwide were fitted with software that cheated diesel emissions tests designed to limit nitrogen oxide (NOx) car fumes between 2009 and 2015.

The so-called “dieselgate” scandal sparked the biggest business crisis in the company's history, costing it more than €32bn (roughly R620,281,600,000) in vehicle refits, fines and legal costs as it triggered legal cases in several countries.