A former Audi CEO pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges related to Volkswagen diesel emissions scandalin which Audi’s parent company VW cheated on emissions tests with illegal software.
Rupert Stadler has admitted fault in keeping the affected cars on sale after news of the scandal broke in late 2015, The Guardian reported. Related press report. He pleaded guilty to the crime under an agreement with the judge and prosecutors that allowed a suspended sentence rather than jail time, and ordered Stadler to pay a €1.1 million ($1.2 million) fine.
Buy 2013 Audi A7
Stadler was charged by prosecutors with fraud and false certification, who accused him of overseeing the sale of cars with emissions cheating software after September 2015, when the EPA made an official notice alleging VW violated the Clean Air Act.
Former top Audi executive is arrested in 2019 on allegations related to the diesel engine scandal. The launch of SUV Audi E-TronThe automaker’s first mass-market electric vehicle was delayed while it was in the custody of officials.
2019 Audi Etron
After the diesel scandal broke, Stadler pushed ahead with plans to electrify Audi, with the arrival of one electrification model per year. Audi has more or less stuck with that, while parent company VW has released the mother of all mea culpas as the MEB platform for mass electric vehicles.
Stadler’s $1.2 million personal fine represents a tiny fraction of the total cost of the VW diesel scandal; in 2020, it is totaled at nearly $35 billion. That includes $1.2 billion fine issued by the German authorities in 2018, it is one of the largest penalties ever imposed in Germany. The German government has also charged former VW CEO Martin Winterkorn, but proceedings have stalled due to his ill health, AP reported.
