VW ‘dieselgate’ fraud: Timeline of a scandal

Five years after German car giant Volkswagen admitted to massive emissions cheating in diesel cars, here’s a look at the legal and financial fallout.

– 2014 –

US researchers at the University of West Virginia discover that certain VW diesel cars emit up to 40 times the permissible levels of harmful nitrogen oxide when tested on the road.

– 2015 –

September 18: The US Environmental Protection Agency accuses VW of duping diesel emissions tests using so-called “defeat devices”.

September 22: Volkswagen admits installing software designed to reduce emissions during lab tests in 11 million diesel engines worldwide. VW shares plunge by 40 percent in two days.

September 23: Chief executive Martin Winterkorn steps down but insists he knew nothing of the scam. 

– 2016 –

April 22: VW announces its first annual loss in 20 years.

June 28: VW agrees to pay $14.7 billion in buybacks, compensation and penalties in a mammoth settlement with US authorities. The deal includes cash payouts for nearly 500,000 US drivers.

– 2017 –

January 11: VW pleads guilty to three US charges including fraud.

As part of the plea deal, VW signs up to a “statement of facts” in which it admits that the cheating dates back to 2006, but it remains unclear how much the top brass knew about the scam.

February 1: Car parts maker Bosch, which supplied elements of the software, agrees to pay nearly $330 million to US car owners and dealers but admits no wrongdoing.

August 25: A Michigan court sentences VW engineer James Liang to 40 months in prison.

December 6: VW executive Oliver Schmidt, who was arrested while on holiday in Florida, is sentenced to seven years in jail.

– 2018 –

February 23: VW roars back to profit after record sales in 2017.

May 3: Winterkorn is indicted in the US, accused of trying to cover up the cheating.

June 13: VW agrees to pay a one billion euro fine in Germany, admitting responsibility for the diesel crisis.

June 18: Rupert Stadler, CEO of VW’s Audi subsidiary, is arrested in Germany, accused of fraud.

September 10: Shareholders’ case against VW claiming nine billion euros of damages opens in Germany’s Brunswick.

October 16: Audi agrees to pay a fine of 800 million euros in Germany.

– 2019 –

January 10: Scandal engulfs other automobile giants with Fiat Chrysler agreeing to a $515 million settlement in the US over charges it used defeat devices.

February 25: German prosecutors fine BMW 8.5 million euros over diesels with higher harmful emissions than allowed, but find no criminal wrong-doing.

May 7: Porsche agrees to pay a fine of 535 million euros in Germany.

September 24: Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler agrees to an 870 million euro fine in Germany.

– 2020 –

February 28: VW agrees to pay 750 million euros in compensation to 235,000 German customers in an out-of-court settlement. The scandal has cost it more than 30 billion euros so far.

May 19: VW CEO Herbert Diess and supervisory board chair Hans Dieter Poetsch avoid trial over market manipulation charges after VW agrees to a nine million euro settlement.

May 25: A German court orders VW to buy back a rigged diesel from its owner, setting the template for thousands of cases brought by individual claimants.

September 9 and 24: A German court says Winterkorn must stand trial over charges of fraud and market manipulation.

September 13: Daimler agrees to pay $2.2 billion to settle emissions cheating charges in the US.

September 30: Former Audi boss Stadler becomes the first top executive to go on trial over “dieselgate”.

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