Stadler faced allegations of helping conceal the fact that Audi's parent company, Volkswagen, installed software to rig emissions tests. The German auto industry giant admitted to the "dieselgate" scandal in 2015.
Former Audi boss Rupert Stadler accepted his role in committing fraud by negligence in the diesel emissions scandal, according to a statement made in German court on Tuesday, having agreed early in May to a deal which would get him a suspended sentence.The former CEO has been on trial for fraud since 2020 over
his role in the scandal after parent group Volkswagen and Audi admitted in 2015
to having used illegal software to cheat on emissions tests. Stadler had
previously rejected the allegations.
Stadler’s defense lawyer Ulrike Thole-Grolle read a
statement to the court, saying the defendant did not know that vehicles had
been manipulated and buyers had been harmed, but he recognized it was a
possibility and accepted that.
“I understand that for my part, there was a need for more
care,” said the lawyer on Stadler’s behalf.
Asked by the judge whether the words were his own, Stadler
replied: “Yes.”
The statement had been widely expected after the judge said
earlier this month that Stadler would face a suspended prison sentence of 1.5-2
years and a fine of 1.1 million euros if he were to confess to a charge of
fraud by negligence. The verdict is expected in June.
The trial is one of the most prominent court proceedings in
the aftermath of the diesel scandal at Volkswagen and its subsidiary Audi.
Revelations that millions of emissions tests had been manipulated emerged in
September 2015.