Dieselgate Scandal Resurfaced: Trial of Ex-Audi Boss

The first executive will go on trial over Germany’s Dieselgate scandal, when automakers sold cars that only lowered their emissions when they were being tested. (Flickr)

Former Audi CEO Rupert Stadler was the first top executive to go on trial on September 30 over Germany's "Dieselgate" scandal. He appeared before a Munich court on charges of fraud: specifically, selling cars with illegal software even after Volkswagen's cheating scandal came to light. He denies all of these allegations.

Audi, an automobile manufacturer based in Germany, is owned by Volkswagen (VW). The Volkswagen Emissions Scandal, otherwise known as the “Dieselgate” scandal, was a crisis that rocked the German car industry half a decade ago. 

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) discovered in September 2015 that many VW cars sold in America had a software device in their engines that could detect when the cars were being tested and lower emissions accordingly. When the cars were on the road, the device subsequently turned off the controls, switching out of the test mode. This resulted in nitrous oxide pollution that exceeded U.S. limits by almost 40 times, which could pose serious harm to health.

Since then, the German car giant has admitted that it cheated emissions tests in the U.S. by installing the software in more than 11 million diesel vehicles globally. "We've totally screwed up," said VW America boss Michael Horn. 

Matthias Mueller, the former boss of Porsche who became the VW group’s new chief executive from 2015 to 2018, declared: "My most urgent task is to win back trust for the Volkswagen Group—by leaving no stone unturned.”

Proceedings have cost the VW Group more than 32 billion euros ($35 billion), in terms of fines and settlements. However, despite being Germany’s largest car producer, Volkswagen was not the only company affected. Other German companies, including Audi and Porsche, have also been examined. In total, the EPA brought to light around 250,700 Audi, 71,600 VW, and 112,100 Porsche vehicles that were sold in American and European markets.

The VW group paid nine million euros ($10.6 million) in May 2020 to prevent the imprisonment of its current boss Herbert Diess and board chair Hans Dieter Poetsch, both of whom had manipulated the market. Two other VW employees have received jail sentences in the U.S.

Before Stadler, not a single top executive had been convicted over the scandal. He had been in custody for four months back in 2018 but was released shortly thereafter. At the trial on September 30, he was accused of continuing to sell cars that contained the illegal device even after being aware of the VW scandal. Specifically, he and three other co-defendants were charged with fraud, criminal false advertising, and false certification. He made no statement upon arriving at the courtroom. The trial is expected to conclude on December 20, 2022, after a series of 176 sessions. 

Not only are Stadler and his companions now faced with increasing public attention, but ex-Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn will also soon face two separate criminal proceedings in Germany on charges of fraud and stock market manipulation. VW is now focused on settling with claimants who want the company to buy back their vehicles.

Although Dieselgate began as a scandal that exclusively affected Volkswagen, it has since transformed into a worldwide problem affecting many industry giants, including rivals Daimler and Fiat Chrysler. With the past emissions scandal resurfacing as a result of Stadler’s trial, new conversations about transport policies, air pollution, and diesel driving bans once again capture the attention of Germany and the entire world.