2023-05-16 09:47:56
Main defendant of the first criminal trial opened in Germany to judge the global scandal of “dieselgate”, the former boss of Audi Rupert Stadler admitted, Tuesday, May 16, to having “accepted” that vehicles are offered for sale with unauthorized software and have “omitted” to inform the partners of Volkswagen, parent company of Audi.
Mr. Stadler confirmed with a « oui » a short statement read by lawyer Ulrike Thole-Groll before the court in Munich. The training financier has “regretted” not have “could resolve the crisis” within Volkswagen linked to rigged engines and therefore accepts to bear criminal responsibility, according to his lawyer.
Judged for two and a half years alongside other former Volkswagen executives, Mr. Stadler, 60, had so far disputed the charges: having had knowledge of the illegal software and having done nothing to put an end to it, continuing to support the sale of fake cars. But negotiations with the court changed his defense a few weeks ago: Mr Stadler agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a full confession to the charges in order to be sentenced to a sentence less than ten years in prison incurred. The court is expected to deliver its judgment in June. The former CEO should receive a suspended prison sentence of up to two years and pay a fine of 1.1 million euros, if the court’s proposal is accepted.
11 million vehicles affected, according to Volkswagen
It was following tests started in 2013 and carried out jointly by the International Council for Clean Transportation (ICCT), a non-governmental organization specializing in clean transportation, and the University of West Virginia, that “dieselgate” was born. The results are published in May 2014. In real conditions, emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), one of the main atmospheric pollutants – emitted by the Volkswagen Jetta are 15 to 35 times higher than American standards, and 5 to 20 times higher for the Passat.
In September 2015, the scandal erupted when the United States and the State of California accused the German manufacturer Volkswagen of having circumvented the rules on air pollution by installing software on Volkswagen and Audi diesel models between 2009 and 2015. The automotive group then acknowledges having installed in 11 million vehicles of the group’s brands devices making them appear, during laboratory tests, less polluting than they were in reality.
In a report published in March 2023, the ICCT estimates that more than 19 million vehicles in Europe emit nitrogen oxide levels above the anti-pollution standards, including 3.3 million for France. Like Volkswagen, Renault and Stellantis (PSA and Fiat group) are indicted for “deception” in the French legal aspect of the “dieselgate”. Justice suspects them of having developed and used software to reduce the actual releases of NOx during pollution controls.
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