This indicates serious legal risks, as Volkswagen’s advertising practices violated consumer protection regulations by making deceptive environmental claims that misled customers.

These claims are misleading because they were based on laboratory testing conditions that did not reflect real-world driving emissions, creating a false impression of environmental performance.

Volkswagen's “Clean Diesel” branding is a classic example of greenwashing because it frames diesel engines as environmentally friendly despite their known high emissions in real-world conditions.