Dieselgate was a huge blemish on VW’s public image, and the fallout continues today, nine years after the story broke. Former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn recently appeared in court on fraud charges related to Dieselgate, and the now-77-year-old faces fines and other penalties if he’s found guilty.
Charges against Winterkorn include false testimony before a parliamentary committee, fraud, and market manipulation. Officials also say he did not inform capital markets in a reasonable amount of time about the automaker’s diesel engine lies. He appeared in court earlier this year as a witness in an investor’s lawsuit.
Winterkorn was pushed out of VW in 2015 and said that he had involvement in the defeat devices used to fool emissions testing devices. His lawyer said, “Our client did not defraud or harm anyone, he did not deliberately leave the capital market in the dark so that investors would be harmed, and he told the investigating committee the truth.”
Volkswagen spent billions buying back vehicles and paying fines related to Dieselgate. The company bought back almost a half-million vehicles in North America, and European lawsuits are still going on today as owners seek compensation similar to that of American owners. Things are somewhat bumpy in VW’s business operations, too, as it recently said it was considering shuttering two German factories, its first such action since the company began.
[Images: Volkswagen]
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