The trial of the people, former drivers and engineers behind Volkswagen’s diesel scandal begins in Germany today. The drivers face prison terms of up to ten years.
Four accused appear in court in the city of Braunschweig. Former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn (pictured) is not present due to health problems; he is recovering from hip surgery. His trial has been postponed. Former Audi CEO Rupert Stadler, among others, is present. The former employees of the Volkswagen group are suspected, among other things, of complicity in fraud and deception. Due to the corona crisis, the lawsuit has been postponed several times. More former Volkswagen managers have also been charged with the fraud.
The public prosecutor specifically accuses the managers of commercial and gang-like fraud with manipulated software in eleven million diesel cars. The cars emit many times the permitted amount of harmful nitrogen oxides (NOx) while driving. During emissions testing, however, it seemed as if the diesels were clean enough. Volkswagen admitted in September 2015 that the company had cheated in emissions testing using pirated software.
A long and drawn-out process lies ahead. 133 hearing days have been scheduled so far and the trial is expected to last until 2023.