Can I get out of my job? Volkswagen's Former CEO Faces Accusation on "Emission Gate"

Four years have passed since the "emissions gate" of the general public, but the prosecution of personnel involved is still in progress.

On May 4, 2015, Volkswagen CEO Wen Deen was indicted by the United States because of the emission gate because of the mass ejection scandal in 2015.

The Michigan State Court of the United States stated that Wendorn was facing charges of "fraud of the United States, telecommunications fraud and violations of the Clean Air Act."

Is this what the saying goes: "Running a monk can't run the temple?"

First, the old age in prison?

Although in 2017, the Volkswagen Group reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding its “emissions gate” and agreed to pay a fine of US$4.3 billion.

However, the U.S. Attorney General, the Director General of the State Environmental Protection Administration and other relevant senior government officials still issued a statement to prosecute Wendorn. Once convicted of "Plotting to cover up the public's diesel emissions cheating", he will be liable for up to 5 years imprisonment and a fine of 250,000 U.S. dollars, or 20 years imprisonment and a fine of 25,000 U.S. dollars.

The U.S. Attorney General made the following remarks: "If you try to deceive the United States, then you will pay a heavy price."

This means that he joined the public in 1993, and now 70-year-old Wendell will face "unpleasant old age" even if he resigns.

In fact, Wendyn as a German citizen, the United States's prosecution of Wendorn may only be symbolic, and he will not be subject to US law. If the situation deteriorates, he can also seek protection under the German Extradition Act. However, Wen End is also being investigated by the German authorities.

According to Wendorn’s lawyer, Wendorn promised to German parliamentarians in January 2017 that he did not know the news of cheating in advance. If he realized this, he would have stopped.

A spokesman for the Volkswagen Group also commented on Wendeng’s allegations, saying that the public will continue to cooperate with the German government and will not comment on the allegations of the US judiciary.

2. More than one person accused

In addition to Wendeng, five people were also charged.

They were Neusser, a former Volkswagen Brand Management Committee, Jens Hadler, former engine development director, and Richard Dorenkamp, ​​and former director of quality management, Bernd Gottweis. Jurgen Peter, head of Volkswagen's quality management and product safety department, also participated.

All of them were accused of not only stopping the public’s cheating but also intentionally manipulating the emission standards.

There are also three more serious cases of expropriation for former senior executives participating in the “emissions portal” of the general public.

On September 9, 2016, James Robert, a former Volkswagen Group engineer, pleaded guilty to the U.S. Department of Justice in Detroit. Acknowledging that he had developed equipment suspected of tail gas emissions cheating during his work at Volkswagen, in violation of the Clean Air Act.

In his guilty plea, he admitted that he was very clear that the so-called "clean diesel" marketing strategy used by Volkswagen Group to promote diesel vehicles in the United States was a downright "big lie."

On January 6, 2017, South Korea’s Seoul Central District Court sentenced a senior executive of the Volkswagen Group Korea Company to a prison term of one year and six months. The charge was that the executive had intentionally falsified exhaust emissions in order to obtain an import vehicle license. And noise test files.

South Korea was once one of the fastest-growing markets for Volkswagen Group's auto sales, but Volkswagen was once suspended from selling in South Korea after the “emission gate” was revealed.

On December 6, 2017, Oliver Schmidt, the former senior executive and engineer of the Volkswagen Group in the United States, was sentenced to 7 years in prison by the US court and a fine of 400,000 US dollars for his involvement in automobile emissions.

However, Schmidt explained to the judge that he was used by the Volkswagen Group in the "emission gate" incident or the "diesel gate" incident.

Until today, the U.S. judiciary authorities and relevant German agencies continued their investigations of the people involved in the Volkswagen “emission gate”.

3. When was the "discharge door"?

The cause of Volkswagen's "emission gate" dates back to September 18, 2015.

The US Environmental Protection Agency accused Germany’s Volkswagen Group of installing illegal software in its production vehicles and deliberately evades US vehicle exhaust emission regulations. The actual pollutant emissions of some vehicles can be up to 40 times the legal standard.

The public formally admits mistakes in the face of “serious violations of the US Clean Air Act” allegations, triggering the Volkswagen Group’s global crisis of confidence.

Immediately after changing the blood of the Volkswagen Group, they faced even more severe global "oversights" with the Volkswagen Group.

The public also faced "great penalties" such as huge compensation, extensive recalls to repair TDI diesel engines, South Korea's discontinuation of Volkswagen vehicles, and the suspension of the sale of VW diesel vehicles in the United States. "Cut down" 40 new car plans, Phaeton's production stoppages, etc., is a major blow to the future development of the public.

At the just-concluded Beijing Motor Show Volkswagen booth, an IDVizzion pure electric car is particularly eye-catching. This is part of Volkswagen's “2025 Plan”. Before 2025, Volkswagen will launch 30 pure electric vehicles, accounting for 20%-25% of the total mass sales.

Do people rely on new energy to save their destiny when diesel vehicles hit hard?

On May 3 this year, Volkswagen Group once again emphasized the 2025 strategy at the annual general meeting of shareholders held in Berlin. Dr. Diss, the CEO of the new group, stated: "The plan to speed up cultural change has been started and the critical period for our transition has not yet arrived."

However, this “recovery of the past by the future” approach may not be able to get rid of all parties’ continuing investigations and claims for “emissions”.

Car gather together

The areas that have less impact on the "emission gates" are counted in the Chinese market.

Since the "discharge door" involved all models equipped with diesel engines, China only involved imports of 1950 units. After completing the patch and continuing on the road, domestic public sales in 2016 continued to increase steadily.

However, the follow-up fermentation events of the “discharging door” and domestic mass recalls have caused more consumers to no longer believe in the “sacred car” and paid more attention to their own car needs.

Has the former senior executives been prosecuted one after another, does it mean that the Volkswagen Group is "cleaning up the portal" and concealing the truth? Instead of using the "2025 strategy" to cover up the past in a high profile, it is better to face the "emission door" and prevent the "XX door."

Finally, let the public put it in a cliché: The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility.