Greenpeace Australia Pacific has welcomed a Full Court decision yesterday, which largely knocked back Toyota’s appeal against compensation payouts for defective filters.
Greenpeace campaigner Joe Rafalowicz said the appeal showed how far Toyota would go to avoid responsibility for its dodgy diesels.
“This case is one more in a long line of dodgy behavior from Toyota when it comes to pollution from its cars: disguise, defeat and deny is their modus operandi,” he said.
“While once a leader in clean car technology, Toyota has fallen way behind the pack. This latest example shows Toyota is willing to release cars with ‘core defects’ leading to excess pollution and higher costs for their owners – and it took a court case for them to take responsibility.
“We cannot trust Toyota when it comes to pollution from vehicles while it continues to greenwash its environmental credentials.”
Toyota is now liable for $1.3billion to the owners of more than 250,000 diesel-powered vehicles.
The company is facing a similar class action concerning ‘defeat devices’ in Victoria’s Supreme Court, over the devices’ different level of emissions in test environments compared to normal use.
Earlier this month, Greenpeace Australia Pacific lodged a complaint with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), and asked it to investigate if Toyota’s environmental claims are deceptive or misleading.
