First lawsuit over emissions scandal filed against Volkswagen Singapore

The Straits Times reported that Volkswagen is facing its first lawsuit from a Singapore car owner who is demanding a full refund on his car because of the manufacturer's massive emission cheating scandal. 

Businessman Sanjay Samnani, 44, wants Volkswagen Singapore to take back a VW Touran seven-seater he bought last April. Just five months after his purchase, the motoring giant admitted fitting 11 million of its diesel cars with software that could detect when they were undergoing emission testing. On the road, however, the cars were found to emit up to 40 times their declared levels of nitrogen oxide.

Mr. Samnani, who is filing the suit together with his mother through Parwani Law LLC, said, "We bought the car believing that it was environmentally friendlier. Now that this (cheating case) has happened, we feel ashamed of driving the car. It's a reputation thing." 

Before resorting to filing a writ on Monday, Mr. Samnani approached Volkswagen Singapore for a refund but was rejected. He then tried to sell the car to Volkswagen's own used car division, Das WeltAuto, last November, but the company has not got back to him with a quote.

Mr. Seah Seng Choon, Executive Director of the Consumers Association of Singapore, said, "Consumers are right to pursue the matter in court as this is a blatant attempt to misrepresent the fact. They have the right to seek redress under the lemon law and they should do so to send a strong signal to the business that its deliberate misrepresentation is absolutely unacceptable."

A Volkswagen Group Singapore spokesman said, "We are in contact with the customer but are currently unable to comment on this topic as it is the subject of an ongoing internal and external review in Germany."