Volkswagen Dieselgate

• Volkswagen to receive RM1.44 billion in Dieselgate settlement payouts from insurers, former executives

  In International News, Volkswagen / By Mick Chan / 10 June 2021 3:16 pm / 4 comments

  

  In the latest development concerning the Dieselgate emissions testing scandal that has plagued the Volkswagen Group, the German automaker has reached an agreement with its former executives for settlements totalling 287.8 million euros (RM1.44 billion), including 270 million euros (RM1.35 billion) from its directors’ and officers’ (D&O) insurers, the automaker group said in a statement.

  The payments relate to the emissions scandal investigation that began in October 2015 into the causes and persons responsible, which saw the automaker’s supervisory board assert claims for damages against former Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn and former Audi CEO Rupert Stadler for breaches of duty.

  In addition to the aforementioned sum from its D&O insurers, Volkswagen will receive 11.2 million euros (RM56.1 million) from Winterkorn, and 4.1 million euros (RM20.5 million) from Stadler. Former Audi board member Stefan Knirsch will pay 1 million euros (RM5.01 million), while former Porsche board member Wolfgang Hatz will pay 1.5 million euros (RM7.52 million).

  The agreement for compensation will still need to pass resolution at the upcoming general meeting that is to be held on July 22, said Volkswagen, adding that former Audi executive Ulrich Hackenberg “was not prepared to reach an agreement.” The Audi board instructed for legal action to be taken against Hackenberg, the statement by Volkswagen read.

  

  In March, Volkswagen said it found that an investigation concluded that Winterkorn had breached his duty of care. The agreement with the former executives was made following a review of liability claims that were conducted on behalf of the automaker’s supervisory board by law firm Gleiss Lutz.

  The tampering of emissions test results were initially blamed on a small group of engineers, which in August 2017 saw a former Volkswagen engineer receive a 40-month prison sentence for helping to devise software for the emissions defeat devices.

  Former executive Oliver Schmidt was sentenced to seven years in prison later that year in December 2017, in addition to a US$400,000 (RM1.63 million) fine for his part in the scandal; Schmidt was the automaker’s emissions compliance manager from 2012 until February 2015.

  The automaker was discovered in September 2015 to have used emissions defeat devices in its vehicles, for which then-CEO Winterkorn issued an apology. This was later found to go beyond the VW brand and into vehicle in the wider VW Group with it 3.0 litre turbodiesel V6, which the automaker confirmed.

  To date, the ongoing scandal has cost the company more than 32 billion euros (RM161.2 billion) incurred in fines, component refits and legal fees.

   

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• Ex-Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn agrees to pay €10 million in dieselgate scandal damages – report

  In International News / By Matthew H Tong / 1 June 2021 11:18 am / 1 comment

  

  Former Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn has agreed to pay around 10 million euros (RM50.4 million) in damages to the automaker over the dieselgate scandal that broke out in September 2015, Business Insider reports. This, after Volkswagen said in March this year that it would claim damages from Winterkorn and ex-Audi boss Rupert Stadler.

  Volkswagen also said in March that a far-reaching legal investigation concluded that Winterkorn had breached his duty of care. To this day, Winterkorn, 73, and Stadler, 58, continue to deny being responsible for the scandal, but they are facing criminal charges in German courts.

  To recap, the automaker in September 2015 admitted to using emissions defeat devices to cheat US emission tests. The scandal has cost the company over 32 billion euros (RM161.2 billion) in fines, refits and legal fees.

  Winterkorn resigned as VW CEO a week after the scandal broke, and was subsequently indicted on charges of breach of trust, tax evasion and false certification. The charges could land him a prison sentence of 10 years if he was found guilty.

   

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• Volkswagen HQ raided again over diesel emissions scandal, for documents pertaining to EA 288 engine

  In Cars, International News, Volkswagen / By Anthony Lim / 4 December 2019 3:17 pm / 14 comments

  

  The Dieselgate issue just won’t go to rest. Earlier this week, German public prosecutors raided Volkswagen’s headquarters in Wolfsburg again to confiscate documents, this time pertaining to the EA 288 diesel engine, Reuters reports.

  The raid on Tuesday is the latest episode in the automaker’s long-running diesel emissions scandal saga, which began in 2015 when it admitted to using trick software a.k.a. defeat devices to cheat US emissions tests.

  Following the raid, Volkswagen said it was fully cooperating with the authorities, but viewed the investigation as unfounded, saying it had disclosed the issue at the heart of the new investigation – which is targeting individual employees – to the relevant authorities, the report added.

  

  

  Former VW Group CEO Martin Winterkorn (left) and former Audi CEO Rupert Stadler.

  The company said that in simulations, vehicles equipped with the EA 288 engine did not indicate a failure of the diesel filter, while still complying with emissions limits. The company added that the engine did not have an illegal defeat device.

  The ensuing fallout has so far cost the company about 30 billion euros ($33 billion) in fines, numerous refits to impacted vehicles and provisions, as well as a global backlash against diesel vehicles.

  The scandal has already claimed former Audi CEO Rupert Stadler, who along with three others were charged with fraud, false certification and criminal advertising practices. In April this year, German prosecutors charged ex-CEO Martin Winterkorn and four others with fraud over their role in the manipulation of emissions testing, and in September, prosecutors indicted current VW Group CEO Herbert Diess for holding back crucial information over the issue.

   

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• VW CEO Herbert Diess indicted over Dieselgate cover up, along with chairman Poetsch, ex-CEO Winterkorn

  In International News, Volkswagen / By Danny Tan / 25 September 2019 10:33 am / 1 comment

  

  VW Group CEO Herbert Diess

  German prosecutors in the city of Braunschweig have accused Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess of holding back market-moving information on rigged emissions tests four years ago. The prosecutors said on Tuesday they would press criminal charges of stock market manipulation against Diess, as well as non-executive chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch and former CEO Martin Winterkorn, according to Reuters.

  VW, which in September 2015 admitted using trick software a.k.a. defeat devices to cheat US emissions tests, has coughed out more than $30 billion in vehicle refits, fines and provisions. This latest indictment isn’t specifically about Dieselgate, but is part of a separate legal push to try management over an alleged delay in informing investors of the company’s wrongdoing. If accepted by a Braunschweig state court, the indictment would lead to a trial date being set.

  Volkswagen shares lost up to 37% in value in the days after the scandal broke. Had investors known about the emissions test cheating, they might have sold shares earlier or not made purchases, the plaintiffs argue.

  

  Former VW Group CEO Martin Winterkorn

  The carmaker is holding firm though. Lawyers for the three men said they would contest the charges that they knowingly held back vital information. VW said its full supervisory board would convene today to discuss the indictments. In a statement issued after an emergency meeting, the board’s executive committee said it “cannot see that there was any deliberate attempt not to inform the capital market.”

  Diess’s lawyer said the indictment would not affect his role as CEO, adding that as Diess – which prior to being group CEO was chairman of the board at the Volkswagen brand – did not join the company until July 2015, he could not have foreseen the scandal would have such a big impact on the company.

  Volkswagen and its executives have said the fallout from the scandal was not foreseeable, and that they had expected to reach a settlement with US authorities prior to the disclosure of the test cheating. Braunschweig prosecutors said the accused should have kept investors informed. “They pursued a strategy to achieve a settlement with the US authorities without disclosing all relevant information,” they said in a statement.

  

  Former Audi CEO Rupert Stadler

  As for Winterkorn, prosecutors allege that the former CEO – who resigned in the days after the scandal broke after eight years at the the helm – was fully aware of the matter and potential financial damage to Volkswagen as of March 2015. Poetsch, who became a management board member at Volkswagen in 2003 and was made chairman in 2015, was allegedly informed on June 29 and Diess on July 27 that year.

  This latest development shows that the fallout from Dieselgate isn’t over yet, even as VW is taking on a new image and rolling out electric cars. It has already claimed former Audi CEO Rupert Stadler, who along with three others were charged with fraud, false certification and criminal advertising practices. Braunschweig prosecutors in April charged Winterkorn and four others with fraud over their role in the manipulation of emissions testing.

   

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• VW CEO: diesel cheating claims unfounded – report

  In International News, Volkswagen / By Mick Chan / 3 June 2019 6:33 pm / 4 comments

  

  Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess told German daily Tagesspiegel that he did not fail in his duty to inform investors regarding the gravity of the diesel emissions cheating scandal which first surfaced in 2015, Reuters reports. “I believe that the allegations made against me are unfounded. This is also the result after the viewing of files,” Diess said to the German daily.

  Shareholders sued the German automaker for violating disclosure rules, arguing that the company failed to inform investors of the financial impact as a result of the scandal, which only came to light after the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice of violation on Spetember 28, 2015.

  The company lost 37% of its value in the days following the discovery of its illegal emissions, though it has said that its managers could not have foreseen the financial scope of the scandal which has cost the company over 30 billion euros (RM140.3 billion) so far, the report said.

  

  Volkswagen insists that the EPA’s issuance of the notice violation was not in keeping with the US authorities’ handling of similar cases involving other automakers, while the German automaker did not see the need to inform investors as other carmakers had arrived at a settlement for emissions cheating cases without an EPA notice of violation, and also because VW was already engaged in settlement talks at the time, Reuters noted the automaker’s filing with the Braunschweig court.

  The automaker also said that there was no need to issue an ad-hoc disclosure notice under German law because previous penalties by US authorities for similar violations came to less than US$200 million, the report noted VW as saying in the court filing.

  The German marque has weathered quite a bit, to say the least. A €1 billion fine was imposed by the public prosecutor’s office June last year in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony for organisational deficiencies, followed shortly thereafter by the arrest of then-CEO of Audi, Rupert Stadler for fears of potential cover-ups.

   

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• Ex-VW CEO Martin Winterkorn charged with fraud over dieselgate coverup, could face 10-year jail sentence

  In International News / By Matthew H Tong / 17 April 2019 12:35 pm / 2 comments

  

  After years of investigation, German prosecutors have filed aggravated fraud charges against former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn. He formerly led the company when it deceived regulators about its vehicles’ diesel exhaust levels.

  The charges represent the first criminal indictment in Germany against an individual in connection with the dieselgate scandal, one which has cost the Wolfsburg automaker billions of dollars since 2015. Four other Volkswagen managers were charged as well, although their names have not been released due to German privacy laws.

  According to The New York Times, the public prosecutor’s office in Braunschweig tied all five individuals to events reaching as far back as 2006, when the deception was initially conceived. It said the timeline is significant because it rejects initial claims by Volkswagen that senior management only became aware of the defeat devices used to cheat emissions tests only after being confronted by the United States environmental authorities in 2015.

  Winterkorn’s indictment includes charges of breach of trust, tax evasion and false certification, either directly or by way of collusion. If convicted, the 71-year-old could be jailed for up to 10 years. Besides Winterkorn and four others, the prosecutor’s office is also investigating 36 other individuals who could face charges, although no timeline was given.

  

  Prosecutors added that Winterkorn continued to conceal the emissions fraud even after he was told that outsiders were questioning the company’s emissions data. He was also charged with approving a ‘useless’ software update in 2014 at a cost of 23 million euros (RM107.5 million), despite knowing that it would not eliminate the cheat devices.

  There are over nine million cars with faked emissions tests that were licensed in Europe and the US, the indictment said. Prosecutors are also looking to seek repayment of bonuses, the highest of which was close to US$ 12.5 million (RM51.7 million).

  Winterkorn stepped down as VW’s CEO in 2015 and made a formal apology in video, all while denying any wrongdoing. No arrest warrant has been issued as yet – Winterkorn is under indictment in the US and is unlikely to leave Germany for fear of being extradited. Under its constitution, Germany has strict limits to the extradition of its nationals.

  The dieselgate scandal has caused quite a stir in the Volkswagen Group as a whole, with high profile executives leaving in droves and a few others arrested. Multiple projects have been cancelled to help cushion costs involved in large scale rectification programmes and billions in fines.

   

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• German court orders Volkswagen to reimburse 2012 Golf owner in full (RM142k) over Dieselgate scandal

  In Cars, International News, Volkswagen / By Matthew H Tong / 26 November 2018 10:53 am / 3 comments

  

  Volkswagen has been given an order by a German court to fully reimburse the owner of a Golf TDI the full original price (around 30,000 euros, or RM142k) of his vehicle, which was bought in 2012. This is due to the automaker’s long-running Dieselgate scandal, Bild newspaper reported.

  The Augsburg civil court ruled Volkswagen had acted immorally by installing emissions-cheating software and had aimed to increase sales and profits by deceiving customers. To date, approximately 11 million cars worldwide were fitted with the emissions-cheating software, which was specifically designed to limit noxious car fumes under certain conditions.

  

  This comes on top of the company’s move to pay billions of dollars in the United States to settle similar claims by some 500,000 owners. Each affected Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche vehicle owner were reportedly given USD$5,000 (RM21k), and VW will also bear the full cost of fixing each vehicle in the country.

  However, there won’t be a similar deal in Europe, where Volkswagen faces billions of euros in claims from investors and customers in the worst business crisis in its history. Several top executives within the group are already serving prison time for what is widely considered as the most controversial scandal in automotive history.

   

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• Audi under investigation for forging chassis number and test records to cheat South Korean authorities

  In Audi, Cars, International News / By Matthew H Tong / 12 October 2018 1:40 pm / 7 comments

  

  Audi is once again in the hot seat as prosecutors in Germany launch an investigation into the alleged falsification of documents, mileage readings and vehicle identification numbers for several Audi models sold in South Korea since 2013. Three Audi non-board members are currently being probed, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

  Munich prosecutor Karin Jung told the publication that “we have three suspects, but there could be more.” The three non-board members are suspected of manipulating test results and mileage readings of the vehicles and falsifying the serial numbers, the prosecutor added. These misdeeds were done in order to obtain roadworthiness certifications required for Audi cars to be exported to South Korea.

  A report by German publication Süddeutsche Zeitung explained that the Audi models which were bound for South Korea did not comply with local regulations and would have not received operating permit, hence the falsification of information. In total, it was reported that 18 models were falsely registered with a forged chassis number. The case could be classified as fraud.

  
  

  Former Audi CEO Rupert Stadler

  This new probe is linked to a case that saw one Audi executive, a Korean national, convicted of fraud in South Korea last year. The executive was sentenced to 18 months in prison for falsifying documents to achieve certification of the vehicles for export to South Korea.

  Prior to this, Audi was already running internal investigations into the case, but the findings (which included detailed descriptions of the violations) were not handed over to the public prosecutors when the Dieselgate saga erupted. The documents were only discovered in March 2017 when a raid into its headquarters took place. However, it’s noted that Audi was under no legal obligations to alert authorities on the findings.

  This is just one of several probes of Audi, which stemmed from 2015 when Volkswagen AG admitted to rigging millions of diesel-powered vehicles to cheat emissions tests. However, this matter is not directly related to the emissions cheating, which saw former Audi CEO Rupert Stadler get arrested in June based on the allegations that he tried to tamper with witnesses in the diesel probe.

   

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• Audi CEO arrested over fears of Dieselgate coverup

  In Audi, Cars, International News / By Jonathan Lee / 18 June 2018 7:01 pm / 6 comments

  

  The investigation into Volkswagen’s diesel emissions cheating scandal rages on with the arrest of Audi’s current chief executive officer Rupert Stadler, according to Munich prosecutors. This news comes from Automotive News Europe, which reported that the executive is being held in custody because investigators feared he might be seeking to suppress evidence in relation to the probe.

  “The suspect has been seen by a judge, who has ordered him to be remanded in custody,” read a statement from the prosecutor’s office, which widened its investigation against Audi last week. It named Stadler among the suspects accused of fraud and false advertising.

  Stadler’s arrest was confirmed by a spokesperson of the greater Volkswagen Group, adding that the presumption of innocence applied to his case. Audi had no immediate comment regarding the arrest, and Stadler himself as well as Munich prosecutors were not immediately available for comment.

  The public prosecutor’s office said that it was investigating 20 suspects, and that it had raided apartments of Stadler and another board member last Monday. That other member is said to be Audi’s head of purchasing Bernd Martens, according to a person familiar to the investigation, who declined to be named because prosecutors had yet to disclose the name, Reuters reported.

  Martens led a diesel task force at Audi, set up to coordinate the handling of the so-called Dieselgate scandal with its parent company.

   

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• Dieselgate: Volkswagen fined €1 billion by Germany

  In Cars, Volkswagen / By Mick Chan / 14 June 2018 12:47 pm / 5 comments

  

  Volkswagen has been fined one billion euros (RM4.7 billion) over diesel emissions from the company’s cars, according to Reuters. The fine was imposed by the public prosecutor’s office in Braunschweig, a city in Lower Saxony, Germany for organisational deficiencies which failed to prevent “impermissible software functions” from being installed in cars between 2007 and 2015, the report said.

  This follows the country’s recall of 238,000 Daimler vehicles earlier this week as part of a larger, Europe-wide recall of 774,000 vehicles, and the German transport minister also threatened to sue Daimler for 3.75 billion euros should it be found to have used defeat devices in its diesel vehicles.

  The latest fine imposed on Volkswagen did not address civil claims or claims made by vehicle owners, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. This however concludes the regulatory offence proceedings against Volkswagen, which the automaker said would help in settling further administrative proceedings against itself in Europe, the report said.

  

  The one billion euro fine was not accounted for in Volkswagen’s 25.8 billion euro provision for Dieselgate-related fines, payouts, fixes and penalties, and would impact upon the Wolfsburg carmaker’s earnings, analysts at Evercore ISI said.

  Further afield in the greater Volkswagen Group, Porsche recalled 60,000 diesel SUVs last month at the request of German authorities. Though Porsche announced that it accepted full responsibility towards its customers, it added that it “does not develop or manufacture diesel engines itself.” The 4.2 litre V8 and 3.0 litre V6 in the Cayenne and Macan respectively were developed by Audi.

  Earlier this week, Reuters reported that the Munich public prosecutor’s office had searched the resepctive properties of Audi CEO Rupert Stadler and one other Volkswagen board member.

   

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• Dieselgate: Mercedes recalls 774,000 cars in Europe with defeat devices, including newest EU6 models

  In Cars, International News, Mercedes-Benz / By Matthew H Tong / 13 June 2018 11:03 am / 2 comments

  

  Last week, German transport minister Andreas Scheuer threatened to sue Daimler to the tune of 3.75 billion euros (about RM17.6 billion) if Mercedes-Benz was found to have cheated emissions regulators with “defeat devices” installed in its diesel-powered cars.

  Well, as it turns out, the German Transport Ministry has ordered the tristar company to recall up to 774,000 cars across Europe after tests found that they each ran an unauthorised software that could be used to manipulate diesel exhaust emissions. According to an official statement by the ministry, selected Vito, C-Class and GLC models in Germany are involved in this recall.

  “The government will order 238,000 Daimler vehicles to be immediately recalled Germany wide because of unauthorised defeat devices,” the Ministry said. It’s unclear exactly which models are being recalled, but the Vito 119 CDI, C 220 d and GLC 220 d have been identified, according to Autocar.

  

  While the ministry has yet to reveal the age of the cars involved, officials suggest they include latest-gen models with EU6 emission certification. This recall follows after Scheuer met Mercedes-Benz chairman, Dieter Zetsche, in Berlin to discuss what has been described as “irregularities in independent test results of various Mercedes-Benz models featuring the German car maker’s turbocharged four-cylinder diesel engine.”

  Since then, Daimler has pledged to remove the illegal software and co-operate with authorities. Among the functions brought into question by the German Transport Ministry is the software used to regulate the amount of Ad Blue solution injected into the SCR filter that’s fitted to the recalled vehicles.

  Apparently, Autocar notes that the software is programmed to lower the amount of Ad Blue being injected into the SCR filter after a prescribed time. This reduces the efficiency of the SCR filter and leads to much higher nitrous oxide emissions when driving in the real world – higher than those claimed by Mercedes-Benz under test conditions.

  

  Mercedes-Benz said it had developed a technical solution that would enable it to update the software, and Zetsche suggests the move could see the company avoid possible fines by the European Union.

  Just two months ago in April, Zetsche said Mercedes-Benz customers are showing more confidence in diesel by continuing to buy them in significant numbers. He also said that diesel cars are crucial to reducing the amount of CO2 put into the atmosphere.

  “I do believe it is not to the benefit of society to turn down the benefits of CO2 savings that diesels offer. We are talking a lot about NOx but I believe CO2 is still the biggest issue,” he explained. However, some factions are calling diesel a “technology of the past,” with Volvo and Nissan each announcing plans to stop further development of the oil-burning engine.

   

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• Dieselgate: Porsche Europe recalls 60,000 diesel SUVs

  In Cars, International News, Porsche / By Matthew H Tong / 23 May 2018 5:33 pm / 0 comment

  

  Porsche, after recently coming under fire for allegedly installing defeat devices in its diesel-powered cars, has issued a recall for its diesel-powered Macan and Cayenne SUVs at the request of German authorities. According to AutoExpress, approximately 53,000 units of the Macan and 6,750 units of the Cayenne are involved in this recall exercise across Europe.

  A Porsche spokesman explained that the company had “received recall notices from the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) affecting Cayenne 4.2 litre V8 diesel and Macan 3.0 litre V6 diesel vehicles.”

  Although Porsche was quick to announce that it “accepts full responsibility towards its customers,” it also said it “does not develop or manufacture diesel engines itself.” Both the above-mentioned engines were developed by Audi, also a member of the Volkswagen Group. Since February this year, Porsche has dropped all sales of its diesel-engined models, citing declining sales as a motivating factor.

  As usual, owners with the affected vehicles will be contacted by Porsche dealers, and “a technical solution in the form of a software update” will be applied to their cars for free during a “short workshop visit.”

  In July 2017, German authorities reportedly found an emissions ‘defeat device’ in the the 3.0 litre diesel Porsche Cayenne, leading to an obligatory recall of 22,000 cars across Europe. This device, when triggered through routine laboratory tests, would limit the emissions of nitrogen oxide. In the real world, the level of emissions is said to be much higher.

  GALLERY: Porsche Cayenne S Diesel
  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

   

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• Dieselgate continues with Porsche, Audi office raids

  In Audi, International News, Porsche / By Mick Chan / 19 April 2018 11:21 am / 5 comments

  

  The diesel emissions scandal has yet to turn a new chapter, as it appears that Porsche and Audi facilities have been raided by German prosecutors as part of ongoing investigations relating to Dieselgate. The collective involvement of Porsche and Audi was first discovered in 2015, when the 3.0 litre TDI V6 engines from the brands were suspected of having emissions control defeat devices installed to get around US EPA emissions testing.

  Three people including a Porsche management board member, a Porsche senior manager and a former Porsche employee have come under suspicion following a raid by German public prosecutors at 10 Porsche properties, according to German publication Handelsblatt. The prosecutors did not release the names of those suspected.

  “We confirm that investigators today inspected and secured documents at the offices of Porsche AG in Stuttgart and Audi AG in Ingolstadt. Audi AG and Porsche AG are co-operating fully with the investigating authorities. Please appreciate that we can’t comment on further details due to the ongoing investigation,” Porsche said in a statement.

  In February, Porsche reportedly dropped all diesel-engined models from its product line-up. Elsewhere, changes at the board of the larger Volkswagen Group have also taken place – Herbert Diess succeeds Matthias Müller as chairman of the board at Volkswagen, while Porsche CEO Oliver Blume has been appointed to the group board of management.

  Despite the huge corrective undertaking in the aftermath of the scandal, Volkswagen still managed to take the global sales lead for 2016, and then outdoing itself the following year.

   

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• VW exec jailed seven years for Dieselgate role: report

  In Cars, International News, Volkswagen / By Mick Chan / 7 December 2017 12:37 pm / 17 comments

  

  Another Volkswagen employee gets the clink for ties to the Dieselgate scandal, according to Autocar – former Volkswagen executive Oliver Schmidt has been sentenced to seven years in prison an hit with a US$400,000 (RM1.63 million) fine for his part in this saga. Schmidt was the company’s emissions compliance manager from 2012 until February 2015.

  This follows the sentencing of former Volkswagen engineer James Liang, who was slapped with a 40-month sentence and a US$200,000 (RM816,100) fine for his part in the German automakers emissions scandal which had been unfolding over the past two years. Liang was the first person with Dieselgate involvement to be sentenced to US federal prison.

  Schmidt was arrested at a Florida airport in January upon returning from holiday, then in August pleaded guilty to two charges related to the emissions scandal – conspiracy to defraud the United States to commit wire fraud and to violate the Clean Air Act, and violating the Clean Air Act itself. A third charge relating to wire fraud was dropped, said the report.

  

  Schmidt learned of the emissions control defeat devices in the summer of 2015, and failed to disclose their existence, he said when entering his guilt plea. Schmidt’s defense attorney appealed for a maximum sentence of 40 months with a US$100,000 (RM163,400) fine; however, the federal judge Sean Cox meted out the highest sentencing within guidelines in the Eastern District of Michigan United States District Court.

  As for the automaker itself, Volkswagen AG pleaded guilty in March to three criminal charges related to the scandal, receiving a $2.8 billion (RM11.4 billion) fine and a three-year probation period.

   

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• VW Dieselgate scandal to cost RM127 billion – report

  In Cars, International News, Volkswagen / By Mick Chan / 2 October 2017 3:42 pm / 12 comments

  

  The long-running Dieselgate scandal that has blighted the Volkswagen Group is now expected to rack up an additional US$3 billion (RM12.7 billion) to a total of US$30 billion (RM127 billion), according to the German automaker. The additional sum is attributed to ‘negative special items’ which are expected to burden the operating result, due to the buyback and retrofit programmes for 2.0 litre TDI engines in North America.

  The models involved for the US market included the Beetle, Golf, Jetta, Passat, and Audi A3, which use the 2.0 litre turbodiesel mills. Despite the fallout, US-market sales of diesel Volkswagens actually charted a 12% growth in April this year, which amounted to 10.3 million diesel vehicles sold in that time. Last week, former VW engine development chief Wolfgang Hatz was arrested by German authorities in relation to Dieselgate.

  Hatz’s arrest follows the apprehension of another former Volkswagen engineer, James Liang, who was slapped with a 40-month prison sentence and a US$200,000 fine for his role in engineering the software for the emissions control defeat devices.

  Meanwhile, VW Group brand Audi said it has no knowledge of Hatz’s arrest, and will continue to cooperate with the authorities, said a report by Automotive News Europe. Before this, only one other person has been detained in Germany, in relation to Dieselgate – that person was Zaccheo Giovanni Pamio, former chief of thermodynamics in engine development at Audi.

   

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