Dealers still not allowed to sell the ID.6 in Germany in dispute with Volkswagen

While the main proceedings in the case are still pending at the Hamburg Regional Court, the Hamburg Higher Regional Court has now dismissed an appeal by the dealer against an earlier ruling that the ID.6, which is not officially offered in Europe, may not be sold in Germany. The dealer had listed 22 units of the large electric SUV for sale on the major used car platforms from the first half of 2022, whereupon Volkswagen had the sale of the ID.6 stopped in Germany by means of a temporary injunction and had the vehicles seized on this basis. The two parties have been at loggerheads ever since.

Volkswagen even wants to go so far as to have the 22 cars scrapped, but this is not possible as long as the legal dispute is pending. Dealer Gregory Brudny is stunned by this behaviour: “This is my property. How can you destroy property?” Brudny told tagesschau.de. “I wasn’t smuggling anything, everything was absolutely legal.”

However, Volkswagen takes a different view and argues that its trademark rights have been infringed. Volkswagen alone is entitled to decide whether and when a model such as the ID.6 will be launched in Europe, VW argued before the Hamburg Regional Court to obtain an injunction against the car dealer.

Trademark law expert Martina Merker from the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin understands the decision. The legal situation here is clear. Only Volkswagen, as the owner of the ID.6 brand, can decide whether and when the product enters which markets. Only then are third parties permitted to trade with this brand.

“That’s why VW is taking such vehement action against it in a way that I think is right,” the trademark law expert told tagesschau.de. “So that third parties are not motivated to copy the brand-independent car dealer.”

The temporary injunction against Gregory Brudny is currently still in place, but the main hearing is still pending. The Hamburg Higher Regional Court (OLG) dismissed the dealer’s appeal, which was heard on May 8, in its decision on June 12. This means that the SUV from Chinese production, which Volkswagen itself never intended for export to Europe, may still not be sold in Germany. The responsible senate rejected the dealer’s appeal as admissible but unfounded, according to the Higher Regional Court in response to an inquiry by the German publication Automobilwoche. This concerned the question of urgency, i.e. whether VW had acted quickly enough after becoming aware of the ID.6 offers to obtain an interim injunction. The main proceedings in the case are still pending at the Hamburg Regional Court. However, the court has not yet disclosed a hearing date for the case.

VW presented the ID.6 for the Chinese market in April 2021. In October 2021, there were rumours that VW could officially import around 15,000 ID.6s to Europe per year, but these have not been confirmed to date.

Report by Florian Treiß

automobilwoche.de, tagesschau.de (both in German)