VW Diesel Crisis: FTC Sues Automaker for False Ads

CARS.COM — Less than three months after the Justice Department filed a civil suit against the Volkswagen Group for violating the Clean Air Act, the Federal Trade Commission also filed suit. In a statement today, the FTC alleges that the automaker deceived consumers through its “clean diesel” ad campaigns and must compensate anyone who bought or leased a diesel car between late 2008 and late 2015. The marketing messages went as high profile as Super Bowl ads, the FTC says.

Related: More on the Volkswagen Diesel Crisis

FTC spokesman Peter Kaplan told Cars.com that the complaint doesn’t have any specific amount, as it has to be litigated in court. It’s unclear how long that will take.

The Volkswagen Group has admitted to skirting environmental standards through rigged emissions systems in nearly 600,000 diesel cars in the U.S. from the 2009 to 2016 model years across its Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche brands. The automaker disclosed the cheating in September 2015, but there is still no full remedy.

See a full timeline of the diesel crisis here.