Chattanooga Times Free Press

Audi fined $925 million in Germany over illegal diesel emissions scandal

- BY DAVID MCHUGH

FRANKFURT, Germany — German law enforcemen­t authoritie­s added another chapter to Volkswagen’s diesel scandal Tuesday by fining the company’s luxury division Audi $925 million for selling cars rigged to cheat on emissions tests.

Prosecutor­s in Munich said Tuesday the fine was imposed because Audi management neglected its oversight duties in selling cars with engines made by it and group partner Volkswagen that did not conform to legal limits on harmful emissions of nitrogen oxides. The case covered some 4.9 million Audi cars sold in Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere between 2004 and 20018.

In September 2015, parent company Volkswagen admitted rigging some 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide with software that enabled them to pass U.S. emissions tests even though emissions in real driving were much higher.

Nitrogen oxides can make existing lung disease worse, contribute to the developmen­t of asthma and increase susceptibi­lity to respirator­y infections, according to the U.S. Environmen­tal Protection Agency. The European Environmen­tal Agency estimated that nitrogen oxides were responsibl­e for around 75,000 premature deaths in the European Union in 2014.

The prosecutor­s’ statement said the resolution of the case did not affect a related investigat­ion of individual­s. Former Audi CEO Rupert Stadler remains in jail while prosecutor­s investigat­e individual involvemen­t in the diesel scandal.

Volkswagen has paid more than $30 billion in fines, settlement­s and recall costs since the scandal broke. Former CEO Martin Winterkorn and other executives face criminal charges in the United States, though they cannot legally be extradited. Two Volkswagen executives were sent to prison in the U.S.

Prosecutor­s said the failure of proper corporate oversight by Audi AG enabled deliberate wrongdoing by individual­s. It said $5.7 million of the fine was imposed for the oversight failure and $920 million represente­d Audi’s forfeiture of economic gains from the violation, including profits from selling the cars, competitiv­e advantages, and savings on the costs of producing vehicles that actually would have conformed to legal requiremen­ts.

Audi said it would not contest the fine. It said the amount would mean the division would “significan­tly undercut” its financial targets for the current year. “Audi accepts the fine and, by doing so, admits its responsibi­lity,” the company said in a statement.

A similar $1.16 billion fine was imposed on Volkswagen by prosecutor­s in Braunschwe­ig in June.

 ?? GETTY IMAGES ?? The new 2018 Audi A8 50 TDI quattro drives on a street. Audi’s troubles with its emission scandal worsened Tuesday when German authoritie­s fined the company $925 million for selling cars with harmful emissions above the legal limit.
GETTY IMAGES The new 2018 Audi A8 50 TDI quattro drives on a street. Audi’s troubles with its emission scandal worsened Tuesday when German authoritie­s fined the company $925 million for selling cars with harmful emissions above the legal limit.

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