Dieselgate: Fallout from emissions saga continues

Eight more Volkswagen employees have been charged by German prosecutors for their alleged roles in the ‘Dieselgate’ saga.

German authorities have continued their scrutiny of car manufacturers ever since Volkswagen was found to have used software to cheat diesel emissions laws back in 2015.

The eight employees were charged with fraud, false certification, and other violations related to emissions laws, news agency Reuters reports.

The news comes just days after the Canadian government announced it was launching a CA$206 million (AU$218.5M) fund to invest in community-based projects which will actively reduce emissions.

Money for the fund was sourced from fines paid by Volkswagen for its emissions cheating.

But Volkswagen isn’t the only manufacturer to find itself in hot water, with Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler reaching a settlement with US authorities and owners.

Within the past fortnight, Reuters reported the US$2.2 billion settlement was approved by US courts, after an agreement was reached by parties in August 2020.

Earlier this week, a report from Spanish motoring website Motor.es suggested the European Union would seek to tighten harmful NOx emissions produced by diesel vehicles by 2022.

The move would further reduce the likelihood of any diesel models being manufactured by European car makers in the future, forcing the industry to develop low-emissions petrol, hybrid, and fully-electric powertrains.

Despite plans to introduce strict Euro 6d emissions regulations for new cars from January, recent reports suggest the European Union may be planning to halve emissions from 2021 levels by the end of the decade.