Six years after the “diesel scandal” that erupted around Europe’s largest automaker – the German concern Volkswagen – a trial began in the land court in Braunschweig on September 16, 2021. Previously, it was postponed several times due to the coronavirus pandemic.
There are 4 people in the dock. They, according to the prosecutor, are ultimately guilty of installing software on several million cars sold worldwide, which allows them to manipulate tests for compliance of engines with environmental standards.All four are former and also top managers of the concern. and engineers. They are accused of conspiracy commercial fraud.
The main, fifth defendant in this case – the former head of the VW concern Martin Winterkorn (Martin Winterkorn) is not involved in this process due to health problems. After several hip surgeries, the 74-year-old defendant is still unable to stand trial, according to Reuters. Therefore, a separate lawsuit will be held against ex-VW chief Winterkorn.
What caused the “diesel scandal”
Six years ago, on September 18, 2015, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent a letter to the American division of Volkswagen. It indicated that there was a discrepancy between the emission levels during testing of VW diesel vehicles in the US and in normal use. The agency has accused the German auto giant of violating state environmental standards and announced the start of an investigation into VW.
Former VW CEO Martin Winterkorn
A few days after it became known that an investigation against a German company in the United States could threaten criminal prosecution, several top managers admitted the violations committed by the automaker. As it turned out, more than 9 million Volkswagen, Audi, Seat, Skoda cars with diesel engines approved for operation in Europe and the USA were installed with software from 2006 to 2015, which made it possible to circumvent environmental standards. It was about a program to turn on the exhaust control system at full power only during the inspection of the car. At the same time, the system was turned off during normal car operation, when the content of harmful substances in the exhaust is much higher. As a result, according to the EPA, the emissions of harmful substances from cars exceeded the established norm by almost 40 times.
What is expected from the “dieselgate” process
Automotive expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, director of the CAR Research Institute in Duisburg, told DW that the current lawsuit will focus on the investigation into Winterkorn, who the expert hopes will “be brought to justice soon.” All five defendants are accused by the prosecutor’s office of knowing about the manipulations. But besides accusations of conspiracy commercial fraud, it also includes illegal advertising and tax evasion. Only on the first charge can the defendants face up to 10 years in prison.
Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, Director of the CAR Duisburg Research Institute
They, in turn, do not admit guilt, emphasizing that they passed all the information to their higher authorities and are not responsible for the crime, or they did not know anything about the manipulations at all. What, according to Dudenhöffer, the former head of the Winterkorn concern cannot say in his defense. “It is unlikely that whoever is at the top knew absolutely nothing.” This is especially true of Martin Winterkorn, “who is a technician himself and knows every nut.”
Stefan Bratzel, director of the independent research institute CAM at the Higher School of Economics in Bergisch Gladbach, in a conversation with DW emphasizes that he would be very surprised if it turned out that the ex-head of the auto concern did not know anything about the manipulation. Winterkorn had a goal of overtaking rival Japanese automaker Toyota. “He wanted to find a solution to counter the hybrid Toyota models. So I can’t imagine he didn’t ask his employees how they did it,” says Bratzel. He hopes that the “diesel scandal” trial will show that not only middle managers are to blame, but also those “who bear the main responsibility, and they should be punished for the damage caused.”
What is the role of ex-VW chief Winterkorn
After the scale of the manipulation became known, Martin Winterkorn resigned from his post. Winterkorn himself asked the supervisory board of the concern to relieve him of his post. The head of VW explained that as the head of the enterprise, he takes responsibility for the revealed violations: “I am doing this in the interests of the concern, although I do not think that I did something wrong.” His lawyer, Felix Dörr, claims that the ex-VW chief did not know in advance about the installation of prohibited software on some car models.
Stefan Bratzel, Director of the independent research institute CAM at the Higher School of Economics in Bergisch Gladbach
The diesel scandal has already cost the VW car concern 32 billion euros. Most of these were paid to the United States as fines or damages. In addition, thousands of defrauded clients filed claims against the company. In April 2020, the concern announced the conclusion of an amicable agreement with 235 thousand car owners in Germany, under which they will be paid compensation in the total amount of 750 million euros.
Who will pay VW for the damage caused
In June 2021, after an internal investigation by VW, Winterkorn was ordered to pay $ 11.2 million in compensation for damages caused to the company. In addition, a lawsuit has been going on for almost a year in the Munich Regional Court. In the dock – the former chief of Audi, a subsidiary of VW, Rupert Stadler, as well as three top managers of the company. The company Audi, according to the German media, referring to these investigations, had a special role – it was there that a program for manipulating data on harmful emissions was developed, which was then secretly installed on millions of diesel cars belonging to the Volkswagen concern: VW, Audi and Porsche.
The Munich prosecutor’s office accuses 55-year-old Stadler and another current top manager of the concern that after the fact of manipulation became known, the company continued to sell cars on the European market in which illegal software was embedded. Stadler himself denies all accusations against him. From Stadler, like from Winterkorn, the automaker is demanding compensation for the damage caused.
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