Former Audi chief charged in the diesel scandal

German prosecutors have charged former Audi AG chief executive Rupert Stadler and three other employees with diesel-emissions fraud. The four employees are accused of developing the illegal-emissions software used in Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche. 

The charges relate to the sale of 250,712 Audis, 71,577 VWs and 112,131 Porsches with diesel engines in Europe and the United States. The charges allege that Stadler, who became head of Audi in January 2010, knew about the diesel-emissions manipulation «no later than the end of September 2015».

As a result, the Volkswagen Group, of which Audi is a division, has paid more than $30 billion in fines to the USA and Europe. In the USA, the VW brand took responsibility for this, because far more Volkswagen cars with diesel engines were sold there than Audis. The fines there amount to about $22 billion of the more than $30 billion.

The 56-year-old Stadler was arrested in June 2018 and released on bail four months later. According to media reports, he denies committing any wrongdoing. Bram Schot was appointed interim chief executive of Audi after Stadler's arrest, and subsequently on a permanent basis as of December of last year. Although he too may soon be replaced.

Since the disclosure of the emissions-defeat software at the end of 2015, VW and Audi have refocused their powertrain development. Development is now concentrated on electric cars, including the global alliance with Ford Motor announced in January of last year.

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