Turkish man takes legal case against Land Rover to EU

By Hanife Sevinc

ISTANBUL (AA) - A Turkish businessman -- winning his case against a world-famous British carmaker in March over engine failure -- has taken the lawsuit to the EU offices, an Istanbul based NGO said Friday.

International Diplomats Association said after winning his multi-year court battle Engin Yakut, the owner of the faulty Range Rover Vogue, claimed in his petition that thousands of Range Rover Vogue models in Turkey have been suffering from the same engine problem.

The association said Yakut took his case to the European Court of Justice, European Commission, EU Parliament, and the bloc's competition authority.

In 2013, Yakut bought a luxury Land Rover sport utility vehicle (SUV), Range Rover Vogue for €170,000 ($191,000), but soon it broke down.

"Land Rover Company will lose a great deal from its reputation if they reject to accept their fault. The company CEO should make a public announcement about the issue and [2013 model] Range Rover Vogue SUVs should be called back," Yakut said, adding the vehicles with similar engine failures pose a danger for traffic safety.

Yakut urged European prosecutors to launch an investigation against Land Rover Company as there are currently around 8,600 vehicles suffering from the same engine and transmission failures.

- Yakut's legal struggle against Land Rover

Yakut bought a Range Rover Vogue for €170,000 in 2013 but soon it broke down.

Mechanics at Borusan Oto, the vehicle's distributor in Turkey, issued a report blaming the breakdown on a manufacturing defect.

After three attempts by Yakut to get Land Rover to replace his car went unanswered, Yakut filed suit in Istanbul’s 1st Consumer Court, demanding the car be pulled from the market.

After seeing evidence of the manufacturing defect, a Turkish court ordered the company to reimburse Yakut for his purchase, with interest but did not order the Vogue model pulled from the market.

* Writing by Can Erozden