• Volkswagen Group will pay almost PLN 74 million fine in connection with the case nicknamed Dieselgate.
• It is a result of the company’s settlement with the President of UOKiK made before a court and worked out in cooperation with the General Counsel to the Republic of Poland.
• The decision in this case is final.

The Dieselgate consisted in using, by the Volkswagen holding, in Volkswagen, Audi, Seat and Skoda vehicles manufactured from 2008 to 2015, of software which allowed to manipulate the nitrogen oxide (NO_x) emission levels in test environment.

In 2020, the President of UOKiK issued a decision pertaining to the Polish vehicle importer, that is, Volkswagen Group Polska. He concluded that the entrepreneur had mislead consumers about the satisfaction of the Euro 5 standard, requirements on the emission of nitrogen oxide (NO_x) and eco-friendliness of the vehicles branded Volkswagen, Seat, Skoda and Audi. The case concerned vehicles equipped with an EA 189 self-ignition engines with “software optimising” the emission of nitrogen oxide which gets activated in the testing cycle used in the WE approval process. Moreover, the company addressed guidelines to vehicle distributors which suggested that consumers’ complaints about the aforementioned problems should not have been recognised automatically despite the fact that the goods had been inconsistent with the contract.

In accordance with its right, the company appealed against the decision to the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection. In the course of the judicial proceedings, the court obligated the parties to enter into settlement negotiations. At the same time, the court told that it was of the opinion that EU laws establishing the exhaust fumes emission standards (Euro 5) did not set any limits for the emission of nitrogen oxide which was emitted by vehicles under the “traffic conditions” and the relevant piece should be erased from the description of the practices.

– We considered the opinion of the court and in cooperation with the General Counsel to the Republic of Poland we decided to make a settlement with Volkswagen Group Polska which was next approved by the court. The result involves an amending decision. In this decision, we have found that the company had applied practices misleading consumers about the eco-friendliness of the vehicles with EA 189 diesel engine, among other things. We also confirmed that the company addressed guidelines and messages to vehicle distributors which had suggested that complaints should not have been recognised automatically despite the fact that the goods had been inconsistent with the contract. The final fine imposed on the company amounts to almost PLN 74 million – says Tomasz Chróstny, the President of UOKiK.

Legal matters which occurred in this case were consulted by the President of UOKiK with the General Counsel to the Republic of Poland. The General Counsel to the Republic of Poland was also involved in the process of negotiating its wording. On the other hand, when approving the settlement, the court confirmed that it was understandable, did not contain any contradictions and was legitimate and consistent with the rules of social co-existence; it did not aim at circumventing the laws, either. Settlement allowed to avoid a multiannual judicial trial and ensured that the practices identified by the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) as violating the collective interests of consumers were discontinued and the payment of an adequate fine.

Additionally, UOKiK reminds you that following the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union issued on 1 August 2025 in case numbered C-666/23, buyers of the vehicles equipped with devices limiting the efficiency of operations are entitled to a compensation from the vehicle manufacturer if this device has caused any harm to this buyer.

The decision is final. The final amount of the fine to be paid by the entrepreneur was PLN 73,752,658.