Volkswagen is reaping the whirlwind for its deceptive 'Clean Diesel' advertisements with its TDI car models. The Federal Trade Commission of the United States has recently sued the German automaker saying that it deceived its customers with its dishonest promotion.
The Wolfsburg, Germany-based carmaker has been promoting its cars under the 'clean diesel' banner. These cars were touted to be environmentally superior to rival cars since they have higher fuel efficiencies while satisfying the latest and strictest emission standards.
But it has been proven by the latest authoritative investigations that the carmaker has actually used "defeat device" software to hide the inability of its diesel engines to satisfy real-world emission standards.
On Tuesday, the FTC filed a complaint in federal court and charged that the German carmaker has repeatedly made dishonest claims regarding the "clean diesel" features of its cars in its ad campaigns.
The FTC requested the court to issue an order that requires the carmaker to compensate U.S. consumers "who bought or leased an affected vehicle between late 2008 and late 2015" and to stop it from using these deceptive claims in its future campaigns.
Before the commission filed this complaint, it partnered with the Justice Department and the EPA to investigate Volkswagen's impressive claims last October. That was less than a month when the EPA issued a notice that there is a violation committed by VW's TDI diesel engines.
"Volkswagen has received the complaint and continues to cooperate with all relevant U.S. regulators, including the Federal Trade Commission," the carmaker responded in a company statement.
"Our most important priority is to find a solution to the diesel emissions matter and earn back the trust of our customers and dealers as we build a better company," the company statement concluded.
The ad campaign of Volkswagen was wide and extensive. Aside from print advertisements, it included social media campaigns, and the very expensive Super Bowl ads which targeted consumers who are "environmentally-conscious."
