The Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe yesterday handed down its ruling in a test case brought by Herbert Gilbert, who bought a second-hand minivan fitted with the defeat devices.

In a ruling which will pave the way for 60,000 other plaintiffs to obtain compensation, the court ordered Volkswagen to take back Mr Gilbert’s vehicle and pay him a sum of €28,257.74.

The carmaker has already paid out more than €30 billion in fines, compensation and buyback schemes linked to the “dieselgate” scandal since 2015.

A spokesperson for Volkswagen said: “The ruling of the German Federal Court of Justice will bring closure for the diesel proceedings in Germany.

“Volkswagen is now seeking to bring these proceedings to a prompt conclusion in agreement with the plaintiffs. We will therefore approach the plaintiffs with the adequate settlement proposals.”