Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, plans to join the class-action lawsuits filed against Volkswagen over the German automaker’s emissions scandal. “Norges Bank Investment Management intends to join a legal action against Volkswagen arising out of that the company provided incorrect emissions data,” Marthe Skaar, the fund’s spokeswoman, said. “We have been advised by our lawyers that the company’s conduct gives rise to legal claims under German law. As an investor, it is our…

Advances in van safety technology could be undermined by dangerous overloading, warns the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) today. Almost nine in 10 (88.5%) of the 2,381 vans weighed last year by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) were found to be overloaded, a worse record than the previous year in which 84% of the 3,337 checked were illegal. Manufacturers are offering increasing levels of safety on the latest vehicles: around a…

German daily Handelsblatt is reporting today that the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) has completed its tests on diesel vehicles and concluded that only Volkswagen Group has used so-called defeat devices using software to cheat on nitrogen-oxide levels emissions tests. The newspaper reports that sources told them that there were other cars that showed irregularities during on-road testing of emissions levels, but they were all within the legal limits. It also says that the…

Nearly four times as many British new car buyers choose connectivity gadgets over safety upgrades when specifying their vehicle, according to WhatCar?. New research by Whatcar.com shows that, despite the nation’s apparent preoccupation with road safety, drivers are shelling out for items like satellite navigation, digital radio and Bluetooth capability rather than safety systems such as lane-keeping assistance and blindspot monitoring. Automated emergency braking (AEB) is the most popular safety system selected, but less than…