Former Audi Chief Pleads Guilty

Former Audi Chief Pleads Guilty  

Former Audi Chief Pleads Guilty  

FRANKFURT, Germany—The former head of Volkswagen’s luxury division Audi pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges tied to the automaker’s diesel emissions scandal, becoming the highest-ranking executive convicted over cars that cheated on emissions tests with the help of illegal software.

Rupert Stadler answered “yes” to a statement read in court by his attorney that said Stadler admitted wrongdoing and regret for his failure to keep rigged cars off the market even after the scandal had become public knowledge, the dpa news agency reported.

Web Campaign

Stadler entered the plea under an agreement with the judge and prosecutors that provides probation instead of jail time and orders him to pay a 1.1 million euro ($1.2 million) fine in return for a thorough admission of guilt.

Three lower-ranking managers also have taken plea deals in the 2.5-year-long trial in Munich.

Stadler had been charged with fraud and false certification by prosecutors who said he let cars with rigged software be sold after September 2015. That’s when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a notice of violation under the Clean Air Act after discovering the rigged software.

Rupert Stadler
Rupert Stadler, former CEO of German car manufacturer Audi, enters a regional court room in Munich on May 16, 2023. (Matthias Schrader/AP Photo)

The software turned on emission controls when the cars were on test stands and turned them off when the cars were on the road. The cars would pass inspection but emitted many times the permitted level of nitrogen oxide, a pollutant that can harm people’s health.

The scandal cost Volkswagen more than $30 billion in fines and settlements and saw two U.S. executives sent to prison.

Source: The Epoch Times

Web Campaign

You May Also Like

Diesel News - $120k C20; Drag Racing; Emissions and more

Truck Of The Week Duramax/Allison ’74 C20 Sells For $121,000 Would you pay over 100 grand for this? Someone recently did at the Barrett-Jackson Auction […]
East Coast Diesel Nationals

Get ready for the East Coast Diesel Nationals 

Get ready for the East Coast Diesel Nationals  15-year annual event back to the basics with diesel and gas trucks for another year of grudge […]
Duramax Diesel Dragster Engine

New Duramax Powerplant For Paul Vasko’s Dragster

New Duramax Powerplant For Paul Vasko’s Dragster Paul Vasko is taking his Duramax dragster program very seriously in 2023, just check out his brand-new Duramax […]

Diesel News 1-6-20

Engine of the Week Triple-Turbo 6.7L Power Stroke Leave it to the folks at Truck Source Diesel to put together one of the first late-model, […]