Ex-VW Boss Tells Trial 'dieselgate' Charges Are 'implausible'

Braunschweig, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th Sep, 2024) Former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn said Wednesday the charges against him were "implausible" as he testified at his trial over the "dieselgate" scandal that rocked the German auto titan.

"I think it is implausible to make a criminal accusation against me like (prosecutors) are trying to do with their charges," he told the court in the German city of Braunschweig, close to VW's historic Wolfsburg headquarters.

The 77-year-old went on trial Tuesday, nine years after Volkswagen admitted installing software to rig emissions levels in millions of diesel vehicles worldwide, setting off one of Germany's biggest post-war industrial scandals.

Winterkorn faces charges including fraud over the use of the so-called defeat devices, which made cars appear less polluting in lab tests than they were on the road, and could be jailed for up to 10 years if convicted.

In a lengthy statement, he described how he headed a sprawling corporate empire, had numerous responsibilities and was far-removed from detailed decision making.

The ex-executive conceded that, due to being boss of the carmaker when the scandal erupted, he would always be "closely linked" to "dieselgate".

But he added: "I was not involved in the decisions on the development and use of this irregular software function in the new VW diesel engines."

Winterkorn was CEO of Volkswagen from 2007 until 2015, and resigned shortly after the scandal began.