Following a drawn-out legal battle, the High Court of Australia has ruled in favour of Mitsubishi Motors Australia and one of its dealers, concluding they did not breach Australian Consumer Law.

Mitsubishi Triton owner, Zelko Begovic, took legal action against Mitsubishi Motors Australia and dealer Northpark in 2017 after claiming his vehicle used more fuel than the consumption label indicated – a government requirement in Australia for new vehicles.

The decision of previous courts had put Mitsubishi and one of its dealers in the invidious position of breaking the law, despite following the letter of the law as laid down by the Federal Government’s Australian Design rule regulations.

However, the High Court of Australia had no choice but to uphold the appeal in Mitsubishi Motors Australia ‘misleading conduct’ case, in a win for Australia’s new car dealer network.

“In circumstances where the appellants were bound, respectively, to apply and to maintain the fuel consumption label on the respondent’s vehicle, a label the form and content of which were dictated by [Australian Design Rule] 81/02, the appellants did not, by that conduct, breach s 18 of the Australian Consumer Law,” the judgement outlined.

The wider automotive industry has praised the decision, calling it a victory for common sense after the case put Australia’s new car industry at risk of inadvertently breaking the law.

AADA CEO, Mr James Voortman

“This decision is excellent news for Australia’s more than 3,000 franchised new car dealers and will bring certainty to the process of selling new cars in Australia,” said Australian Automotive Dealer Association (AADA) CEO Mr James Voortman.

“This is a victory for common sense which will allow Australian dealers and manufacturers to continue to service the needs of their customers without fear of inadvertently breaching the law,” said Mr Voortman.

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) agreed that the decision provides clarity for dealers, surrounding government-mandated fuel consumption labels.

Read the full background report here.