TfL's £1bn ULEZ Claim: demanding accountability from car manufacturers

News has emerged that Transport for London is pursuing a major High Court claim against some of the world's biggest car manufacturers, including Stellantis, BMW, Jaguar Land Rover and Nissan, seeking as much as £1 billion over their handling of diesel emissions data linked to London's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).

At the heart of the case is an allegation that manufacturers represented certain diesel vehicles as meeting emissions standards when, TfL says, they did not. Owners of non-compliant diesel vehicles are required to pay a £12.50 daily charge to drive within the ULEZ. TfL's lawyers argue that flawed manufacturer data allowed many polluting vehicles to enter the zone for free, costing TfL revenue and undermining the scheme's core purpose: cleaning up London's air. The claim alleges fraud and negligence, with manufacturers disputing theallegations and calling for more detail.

The case is directly linked to the multi-billion pound claim being jointly brought by over 300,000 Johnson Law Group clients along with a further 1.5 million claimants inthe Dieselgate scandal. Earlier this year a judgement handed down by the High Court gave the claimants a partial victory but an appeal is now being pursued by the Claimants to overturn those parts of the judgement that were not favourable. TFL’s case has been stayed pending the outcome of hearings scheduled in October where the Claimants will formally request permission to appeal.

At JLG we welcome other stakeholders in the Dieselgate scandal holding powerful businesses accountable when they mislead regulators, customers or the public.

We believe clean air is a public health issue, not just a regulatory one. Diesel emissions are linked to respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease and thousands of early deaths in UK cities every year. Schemes like the ULEZ only work if the data underpinning them can be trusted.

We'll continue to update our clients on both the progress of the appeal in the civil courts that JLG is actively involved in and this case being brought by TfL.