Rupert Stadler, the former CEO of Audi, has been given a fine and a 21-month suspended sentence for fraud and carelessness in the 2015 diesel emissions controversy.
In Dieselgate, he is the first top boss to be tried and found guilty.
At the time, Volkswagen and Audi, a division of Volkswagen, admitted to using trick software to make their cars look less polluting in tests.
Stadler used to be a big name in the German car business.
He wasn’t accused of ordering the use of software that cheated on emissions tests, but he did admit that he didn’t do enough to stop the scam and stop selling cars with the software.
He first denied the charge, but after two and a half years of a long trial, he and two other defendants were offered a deal to confess in exchange for not going to jail.
In May, they suddenly changed their minds and agreed to play their parts.
Along with the time he didn’t have to serve, Stadler got a €1.1m (£950,000) fine.
Wolfgang Hatz, who used to be in charge of Audi engines, got two years of probation and a €400,000 fine for fraud, while another engineer got 21 months and a smaller fine. Both of them said they had changed diesel engines.
VW has been trying hard to put an end to the issue so it can focus on its plan to stop making diesel cars and start making electric ones.
But Mr. Stadler’s sentence might not make consumers feel much better. The German people did not think that Stadler’s guilty plea showed a lot of remorse. Judges only made him do it after they told him he could go to jail.
His statement from last month did not say that he was directly involved in Dieselgate. Instead, it only said that he made mistakes in how he handled the situation.In court, his lawyer read a carefully written, difficult text full of caveats, conditionals, and the passive voice.
Stadler said he had chances to step in and help, but he didn’t, and he was very sorry about it.The way it was put was, “He didn’t know about the software, but he agreed that it was possible.” “There should have been more care.”
In court, he just said “yes” to confirm what was put down. Consumers who were angry and activists who were upset didn’t see this as Stadler letting his soul out.
Critics have said that €1.1 million is not a big fine compared to how much he makes and how much VW makes each year.
But there are more cases coming up against top bosses.
The trial of Stadler has gone on for years.
It’s hard to figure out who knew what and when. Prosecutors say that there were so many people involved that it may not be possible to figure out who was really to blame.
But there are more court cases against top managers coming up, so Tuesday’s rulings could be a sign that more high-profile people will be found guilty.
