Scottish motorists affected by Volkwagen scandal may have legal redress

German car manufacturer Volkswagen may be forced to compensate motorists if they bought cars affected by the the rigged emissions tests scandal.

A litigation lawyer at Levy and McRae, David McKie said there were parallels with mis-sold PPI.

He said: “I anticipate that this scandal will lead to many cases being pursued or at least investigated in Scotland.

“It is not yet clear whether Volkswagen manufactured vehicles which were sold in Scotland will be affected.

“Much depends on the emissions testing in Europe as opposed to the US, where the problem has emerged.

“If there are claims, I don’t believe that they will stretch to vehicle replacements or refunds but there could be claims for a premium paid for a ‘greener’ car, inconvenience costs for recalls and possible additional fuel costs moving forward.”

The possibility of legal action comes amid news in the German media that Volkswagen was warned a number of years ago about tricking the emissions tests.

According to the Frankfurter Sonntagszeitung, a technician at the firm raised the issue in 2011.

Last week the company admitted it used software to dupe US emissions tests for its diesel vehicles, with the scandal affecting around 11 million VW diesel cars made since 2008.