Sir James Dyson has lost a bid to scrap EU energy labelling laws.
Making his case to the European Court of Justice, the British inventor complained that vacuum cleaners are only tested when they are empty of dust, meaning the ratings are not reflective of performance in real-world conditions. His complaints echo those now being levelled at car emissions tests in the wake of the Volkswagen cheating scandal.
His company, Dyson, has alleged publicly that rival firms in the domestic appliance sector also "cheat" energy efficiency tests and that labelling "misleads consumers to the real environmental impact of the machine they are buying".
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While accepting the testing process was flawed, the EU's General Court dismissed Dyson's lawsuit because his company had failed to show that more reliable or accurate tests were available.
Last month the firm launched separate legal action against rivals Bosch and Siemens, after independent tests supposedly showed vacuum cleaners could draw twice the allocated power when operating with dust inside them. This would equate to an AAAA test rating dropping to an E or F in the home. Bosch and Siemens have denied the claims and threatened to counter-sue.
Sir James said yesterday's ruling "defies belief" and has compared the findings to the VW emissions-rigging scandal. "It is deplorable that the ECJ endorses tests that don't attempt to represent in-home use, and we believe this is causing consumers to be misled," He said.
The decision comes the day after David Cameron called for an end to punitive red tape in Brussels.
Bosch to counter-sue Dyson over VW claims
29 October
Bagless vacuum cleaner pioneer Sir James Dyson is facing the threat of legal action from a German rival he publicly accused of Volkswagen-style energy test cheating.
BSH Hausgerate, the parent company of Bosch and Siemens, has issued a statement indicating it will launch a counter claim in the UK to three lawsuits issued last week in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. It has branded claims that its cleaners are designed to use less power during official tests as "unfounded and untrue".
Sir James made the allegations last week as his company filed the legal actions. He says Bosch and Siemens cleaners use only 750MW of power during tests, but that in everyday use this increases to 1600MW. He told the Daily Telegraph he will not be "diverted from what is a crucial consumer issue" and said he was "disappointed" by the response.
For its part, a spokesman for BSH said in a statement that Sir James "has a history of taking a very aggressive approach against his competitors and has a desire to be in the public eye". It added that having made "completely unfounded accusations of cheating in the past week he has now overstepped the mark".
The German company told The Guardian its vacuum cleaners were fitted with sensors in 2013, before the EU energy label was introduced in September last year, that were designed to maintain suction as the bag filled up. It also claimed its cleaners performed better than Dyson's in German tests and in comparisons by Which? in the UK.
The two companies have a long-standing rivalry. A 2012 dispute was settled out of court after Dyson discovered a 'mole' in one of its plants sending information back to Bosch. Last year Bosch accused Dyson of advertising incorrect values on the energy labels for its appliances.
Dyson: Bosch is the Volkswagen of vacuum cleaners
29 October
Dyson has claimed rival vacuum cleaner manufacturer Bosch is cheating European energy tests, mimicking the global emissions scandal that has engulfed fellow German brand Volkswagen.
Sir James Dyson, who invented the 'bagless' vacuum cleaner for which his company is famed, told the Daily Telegraph that Bosch's "behaviour is akin to that seen in the Volkswagen scandal".
Dyson has filed lawsuits in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands alleging some of its rival's machines are designed to run at a low power setting when empty, such as in test conditions, and then double their output during "real world" use when dust is detected.
Bosch vigorously denies the allegations. "We do not understand these assertions by Dyson," the company said.
According to Dyson, the models in question achieve a top AAAA rating, which would fall to E or F if the increase in power was taken into account. Sky News notes the lawsuit relates to two models produced by Bosch and Siemens, both of which companyes are owned by Munich-based BSH Hausgerate.
"Bosch has capitalised on the EU regulations which permit that a machine is only tested in an empty state," Dyson said in a statement.
The British company has launched a judicial review to challenge EU tests for a range of consumer products, which it claims are fundamentally flawed. Sir James says while there are "fridges tested with no food, vacuum cleaners tested with no dust, and washing machines tested at inaccurate temperatures", manufacturers have a "smokescreen… to hide behind".
Volkswagen is facing financial ruin in the wake of its own emissions scandal, which was sparked when it was forced to admit last month that 11 million of its cars cheat tests by lowering emissions relative to real world driving conditions.
The Telegraph notes that Bosch supplied the engine control systems that VW used to install the so-called "defeat devices".
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