A new car emissions trial is underway in Germany, continuing the yearslong “Dieselgate” saga in which millions of automobiles from the Volkswagen Group — which includes VW, Audi and Porsche — were found to have been tested in a way that hid their actual emissions.
The trial, which began in Munich in February, sees two former Development Board chairs and two leading engineers facing charges for their alleged role in the massive environmental and business scandal that first made global headlines over a decade ago.
The court proposed suspended sentences between 6-and-12 months as well as financial penalties for the accused during plea talks accompanying the trial while noting that the engineers had likely been put in an impossible situation by management — namely to find a solution to practically unsolvable problem of creating “clean diesel motors” as promised in the VW Group’s advertising.
After weeks of closed door meetings between prosecutors and defense attorneys aimed at finding a compromise, the presiding judge on Monday said “an agreement was not reached.”
What does Audi have to do with ‘Dieselgate’?
Audi engineers were responsible for the development of the group’s low-emission diesel motors. In 2015, VW admitted to manipulating software in its motors to trick emissions measuring computers after a case was brought by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Defense attorneys say their clients had no idea about the manipulation scheme and bear no responsibility for any wrongdoing.
The lawyers called for charges to be dropped, while also contending that the statute of limitations for any possible crimes has expired.
The court said prosecutors had called for jail time, suggesting that these could be changed to suspended sentences if the accused admit guilt.
In 2023, the same court handed down suspended sentences and fines to former Audi CEO Rupert Stadler and two engineers after they pleaded guilt.
The trial lasted nearly three years.
Failure to reach agreement in this latest case means it, too, could drag on for years.