Fiat Chrysler Automobiles pleads guilty, fined $300 million in emissions fraud investigation
NBCMAR 13 2022
The criminal trial of former Volkswagen (VW) CEO Martin Winterkorn began Tuesday, nine years after he and his company were accused of violating emissions testing rules.
The 2015 scandal for which Winterkorn is now on trial, dubbed 'dieselgate,' involved the company installing software in 9M diesel-powered vehicles to create false emissions readings. This violated both European and US regulations.
Winterkorn was orginally supposed to go on trial with four other executives in 2021, but his prosecution was delayed due to health issues. He's accused of lying to consumers about the quality of their cars, failing to tell investors about financial penalties, and lying to Parliament in 2017.
While it's nice that the Volkswagen executives responsible for Dieselgate have faced justice, it can't be forgotten that their crimes severely damaged the climate and public health. Despite the discovery of Volkswagen's fraudulent emissions tests, millions of those toxic vehicles remained on the road putting thousands of lives at risk of pollution-related death.
It's quite ironic that this trial begins just as Volkswagen announces the possibility of factory closures. The green energy theology behind this trial is the same one that's led to China outcompeting European automanufactures. It's also the same one whose policies forced European companies to backtrack on their impossible electric vehicle promises.