VW faces court

The first major court case against Volkswagen over the 'dieselgate scandal', which involved 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide, commenced earlier this week. 

Investors are pursuing Volkswagen for about €9.2 billion (NZ$16.4bn) in damages, claiming Volkswagen should have warned them sooner about the risks.

Shareholders representing 1,670 claims are seeking compensation for the near 40 per cent slide in VW's share price ignited by the scandal.

"VW should have told the market that they cheated," Andreas Tilp, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, told the Braunschweig higher regional court.

"We believe that VW should have told the market no later than June 2008 that they could not make the technology that they needed in the United States," he told the court.

On the first day of proceedings, the court said claims dating before July 2012 may have to be excluded because of the statute of limitations rule, although no final decision was made.

According to AFP, VW lawyer Markus Pfueller hailed the judges' preliminary opinion as 'positive'.

But representatives for the plaintiffs were undeterred, saying that would still leave around two-thirds of their cases on the table.

"The door is open from July 10, 2012, and we are confident our clients will get their money," said Tilp.

The scandal has cost the firm €27.4bn (NZ$48.7bn) in penalties and fines so far.