Tens of thousands of car owners in Germany are entitled to damages in the Volkswagen diesel scandal in the wake of a 2020 landmark court ruling, but it was until now unclear whether this also applies to Volkswagen’s subsidiary Audi.

A man from the central state of Saxony-Anhalt is now suing Audi directly, rather than the Volkswagen Group. The EA189 diesel engine in his car was developed by Volkswagen.

A lower court in the town of Naumburg ruled that Audi should pay out around 20,000 euros (24,226 dollars) plus interest to settle the complaint.

The judges said the luxury carmaker was just as liable because it had used the unauthorized technology in its vehicles and put them on the market.

The case is now being considered in the federal court, where judges have however indicated it will be difficult to prove Audi’s liability.

In September 2015, it emerged that Volkswagen had fitted millions of its vehicles worldwide with a so-called defeat device, designed to make the engines run more cleanly during environmental testing than they did on the road.

More than five years after the scandal first broke, Germany is still reckoning with the impact of the conspiracy.