In February 2022, the Felicity Ace cargo ship caught fireplace and finally sank to the underside of the Atlantic Ocean. Some 4,000 vehicles perished within the fiery incident, most of which have been new automobiles from varied Volkswagen Group manufacturers. But the drama is not over; the German juggernaut is dealing with not one however two lawsuits.

Bloomberg experiences that VW Group has been sued twice over allegations the hearth began from a lithium-ion battery pack inside a Porsche that was on its approach to a buyer. Felicity Ace caught fireplace close to the Azores archipelago whereas carrying an estimated $155 million price of high-end vehicles, together with 1,110 Porsches. Plaintiffs declare a kind of vehicles sparked the hearth that subsequently generated a veritable cartastrophe.

One of the lawsuits was filed in a court docket in Stuttgart the place Porsche calls residence. The lawsuit is led by the cargo ship’s operator, Mitsui OSK Lines, and Felicity Ace’s insurer, Allianz. Interestingly, this lawsuit was filed over a yr in the past, however its development has been halted as a consequence of mediation talks for a second lawsuit in a Brunswick court docket, situated in Lower Saxony, Germany.

Additional discussions between the concerned events are scheduled for later this month. If a settlement isn’t reached, the lawsuits will resume. According to paperwork associated to the preliminary 2023 lawsuit, the plaintiffs accuse VW of withholding details about the dangers related to transporting electrified vehicles. Moreover, the lawsuit filed within the Stuttgart court docket alleges that VW did not disclose the required precautions for safely transporting the vehicles.

Bloomberg experiences the hearth began from a Porsche EV, which might solely be the Taycan. However, it is price noting the automaker additionally sells quite a lot of Cayenne and Panamera variations with plug-in hybrid powertrains which have smaller battery packs. Parent firm VW has confirmed the 2 lawsuits whereas Mitsui OSK Lines and Allianz refused to touch upon the matter.

Attached beneath is an incomplete checklist of the VW Group vehicles that perished that day. There have been additionally many privately owned automobiles that went beneath along with Felicity Ace. Notable mentions embody a 2015 Ford Mustang GT, a Porsche 718 Boxster GTS 4.0, a 2007 BMW 750i, and even a JDM-spec 1996 Honda Prelude SiR. In addition, there was a 1977 Land Rover Santana, which was inbuilt Spain beneath license from Land Rover by utilizing full knock-down kits of the Defender.

As a reminder, Lamborghini needed to restart production of the Aventador to switch the 15 Ultimae items misplaced on the burned and sunken cargo ship.