Act now! Why better not to wait to sell your Dieselgate car or claim compensation

The start of Dieselgate began in the USA in 2015 with a big bang and then spread to Europe. Especially in England, Germany and France, the scandal hit big and caused extensive waves of lawsuits, primarily against the Volkswagen Group but also against other manufacturers. The scandal led to a drop in prices for vehicles affected by Dieselgate, but also for diesel vehicles in general. However, it also ensured that the previously preferred diesel engines are now spurned everywhere and the automotive industry is increasingly turning to electromobility.

This is what diesel dispensers could look like in the future

The diesel market in Eastern and Northern Europe does not seem to have been affected by this scandal and its repercussions so far. A media and political reappraisal of the scandal has not yet taken place. Prices and demand for diesel vehicles are quite stable. However, this is unlikely to remain the case. Buyers and owners of diesel vehicles are sitting on ticking time bombs.

Diesel vehicles are exposed to considerable risk of loss in value.

The first thing that speaks in favor of this is that most car manufacturers are increasingly turning to electromobility and other types of drive over the next few years. The diesel engine, but also the internal combustion engine in general, therefore no longer has any future in perspective. The trend toward electromobility is being flanked by the driving costs of gasoline and diesel, which are being exacerbated even further by the geopolitical situation. Fuel prices in most European countries are already above €2 per liter by default. This has been followed by an explosion in demand for electric vehicles. This has reduced demand for diesel and gasoline vehicles. The consequence will be that vehicles with internal combustion engines will be worth less and less on the used car markets as time goes on.

For many owners of diesel vehicles, however, it will not stop there. This is because, also taking into account the shortage of raw materials and, above all, for ecological reasons, the social and thus also the political understanding is increasingly moving away from fossil fuels. Not least in order to reduce dependence on Russia, many parties that previously had no focus on this are now discovering environmental issues.

This diesel engine in private cars died with Dieselgate.

Vehicles with fuel engines will thus be sidelined in the short and medium term. It is almost certain that the first vehicles to face restrictions will be Dieselgate-vehicles. Already, various lawsuits and actions by environmental groups are threatening the road registration of millions of dieselgate- vehicles on the road, without individual consumers knowing about it. And this threat is expected to increase as the debate over dirty fuel vehicles intensifies driven by geopolitical as well as climate developments around the world in Eastern and Northern Europe. Particularly as a large proportion of diesel vehicles on the road are operating with unauthorized defeat devices and are therefore emitting far more exhaust gases than is permissible. Diesel vehicles are thus naturally at the top of the mobility transition agenda.

Dieselgate-vehicles will be particularly affected by the drop in prices due to the risk of their decommissioning. It is therefore already worth considering selling your diesel. If your vehicle is evidently affected by Dieselgate, it is also worth taking legal action, as in this case the average market price can no longer be achieved due to the lower value resulting from the vehicle's defectiveness, and the owner has therefore already suffered a loss.