Former Audi boss fined €1.1m after admitting ‘dieselgate’ scandal

The former boss of Audi has become the highest profile German executive to confess to involvement in the “dieselgate” scandal.

Rupert Stadler on Tuesday admitted wrongdoing and regret for his failure to keep rigged cars off the market even after the scandal became public knowledge.

“I did not know that vehicles had been manipulated and buyers had been harmed as a result, but I recognised it as a possibility,” lawyers for Stadler said in a prepared statement read out at a Munich court. “I see for myself that more care was required.”

Stadler made the admission as part of a plea deal that will see him avoid jail time but agree to pay €1.1m in a settlement with prosecutors.

A former member of Volkswagen’s board, Stadler has been embroiled in the legal case since 2020 over allegations of fraud and false certification. 

As with most of VW’s brands,  Audi was caught up in the “dieselgate” scandal after the German automaker was discovered to have used software to cheat emissions tests.

Researchers found that from 2008 to 2015, cars recognised when they were being tested under lab conditions and tuned the engine to limit nitrogen oxide emissions (NOx). On the road, emissions were far higher.

VW admitted to using the illegal software to rig emissions tests in the US in 2015. 

Some 11m cars were fitted with the devices, about 1.2m of which were in the UK.

Last year, Volkswagen agreed to pay thousands of British drivers more than £2,100 each over the scandal.

The German carmaker said it would pay £193m in the largest such settlement of a group action in the UK.

It comes on top of more than €30bn the automotive giant paid worldwide in fines, civil settlements and buyback schemes linked to the scandal. It has not compensated all EU purchasers.