The Munich Regional Court has given the former Audi boss Rupert Stadler a suspended sentence if he confesses. He should have recognized by July 2016 at the latest that the emission values of diesel cars could have been manipulated, said the presiding judge Stefan Weickert on Tuesday. Stadler should have got to the bottom of the matter, stopped trickery and informed the trading partners. “With a full confession,” he and two co-defendants could be sentenced to probation.
Stadler and the former Head of Audi Engines and Head of Technology at Porsche Wolfgang Hatz have so far protested their innocence. According to the Chamber’s assessment, the former head of the Audi department, Giovanni P., has so far “not fully confessed”. With the approval of the public prosecutor, the chamber intends to drop the proceedings against the fourth defendant, senior engineer Henning L., who appeared as a key witness.
The criminal court came to this preliminary assessment after two and a half years of taking evidence, said Weickert. She also had in mind the very long duration of the proceedings, “which is stressful for the accused”. They should now consult with their lawyers. According to previous planning, the verdict could be announced in June.
Targeted manipulation
The three engine developers Hatz, P. and L. are said to have manipulated diesel engines for around 400,000 cars from Audi, Volkswagen and Porsche from 2008 onwards in such a way that they passed emissions tests but emitted more nitrogen oxide on the road than permitted. The aim was to save the subsequent installation of larger Adblue tanks for exhaust gas cleaning.
According to a preliminary assessment by the Chamber, this trio was inadmissible defeat devices installed. However, she does not want to take into account a whole range of vehicles and markets listed in the indictment. The chamber is also suggesting that the accusations of misleading advertising and indirect false certification be dropped.
According to the indictment, Stadler only found out about it after the scandal was uncovered in the USA in 2015, but only stopped the production and sale of manipulated cars in Europe in 2018. He has argued that as CEO he was “duped” by his technicians, although “perhaps a culture of fear” in the VW group could also have contributed.
The Chamber, on the other hand, referred to the internal investigations by law firms at Audi and VW and the findings of the Federal Motor Transport Authority. By July 2016 at the latest, he should have looked into the matter and acted.
Stadler, Hatz and P. had been in custody for several months. The first criminal trial of the diesel scandal in Germany has been running since September 2020. Wednesday was the 161st day of the trial. Defender’s fees, travel and hotel costs as well as court costs, including expenses for experts and witnesses who have traveled there, should add up to several hundred thousand euros for a defendant, said a lawyer on the sidelines of the process. In addition, there may be high probation conditions.
