Volkswagen
German carmaker that sells Volkswagen and Audi cars.
- Entries
- 12
- On the record
- 9
- Stories
- 1
- Latest entry
- May 25, 2020
The record
Volkswagenwerk GmbH was founded in 1937 as a subsidiary of the German Labour Front, the largest organization of the National Socialists, and during the war made military goods using forced labour, the company's own history says. Today the Volkswagen Group is headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany, with ten core brands and 111 production facilities. It has owned Audi since 1969, and Audi and Porsche were its co-defendants in the U.S. diesel case.
The U.S. diesel record starts with a September 18, 2015 EPA notice that its 2.0-liter diesel cars carried software that ran full emissions controls only during testing. A second notice that November covered 3.0-liter models, and Volkswagen officials then told the EPA the device had been in all of its U.S. 3.0-liter diesels since 2009. The Justice Department sued in January 2016 over about 590,000 vehicles.
A federal court approved three partial civil settlements between October 2016 and May 2017. They required a $2.7 billion mitigation trust plus $225 million more, $2 billion in zero-emission vehicle investment through a company created for the purpose, Electrify America, and a $1.45 billion civil penalty. In Germany, the Federal Court of Justice ruled in May 2020 that buyers of cars with illegal defeat devices can claim their money back from Volkswagen.
Roles and honours on the record
Every entry, newest first
- Ruled
Braunschweig prosecutors imposed a €1B fine for failing to supervise employees, per the New York Times. Volkswagen Dieselgate bill: $33B+ in fines, buybacks, payouts
- Ruled
Judge Sean Cox ordered a $2.8B criminal fine in a Detroit federal court, per the Wall Street Journal. Volkswagen Dieselgate bill: $33B+ in fines, buybacks, payouts
- Admitted
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy, customs violations and obstruction of justice, per the New York Times. Volkswagen Dieselgate bill: $33B+ in fines, buybacks, payouts
- Ruled
Judge Charles Breyer approved the roughly $15B US consumer settlement, USA Today reported. Volkswagen Dieselgate bill: $33B+ in fines, buybacks, payouts
Stories in this file
The record, entry by entry
- 1937 Official Volkswagenwerk GmbH was founded as a subsidiary of the German Labour Front. The company's history says that from 1939 the plant became part of the armaments industry and made military goods using forced labour. Volkswagen Group, corporate history page
- 2015-09-18 Official The EPA issued a Notice of Violation of the Clean Air Act to Volkswagen AG, Audi AG and Volkswagen Group of America, alleging that software in model year 2009-2015 2.0-liter diesel cars circumvented emissions standards and let them emit up to 40 times the allowed pollution. EPA, Learn About Volkswagen Violations
- 2015-11-02 Official The EPA issued a second notice covering model year 2014-2016 3.0-liter diesel cars and SUVs from Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche. On November 19, 2015, Volkswagen officials told the EPA the defeat device had been in all of its U.S. 3.0-liter diesel models since 2009. EPA, Learn About Volkswagen Violations
- 2016-01-04 Filed The United States filed a Clean Air Act complaint against the Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche entities over about 590,000 diesel vehicles sold in the U.S., alleging that engine software was a prohibited defeat device. The complaint was amended on October 7, 2016. EPA, Volkswagen Clean Air Act civil settlement page
- 2016-10-25 Ruled The federal court in Northern California approved the first partial settlement, covering 2.0-liter vehicles. It required Volkswagen to fund a $2.7 billion mitigation trust and invest $2 billion in zero-emission vehicle infrastructure, which Volkswagen Group of America set up Electrify America to carry out. EPA, Volkswagen Clean Air Act civil settlement page
- 2017-04-13 Ruled The court approved the third partial settlement, addressing civil penalties and injunctive relief, under which Volkswagen paid a $1.45 billion civil penalty for the alleged civil violations of the Clean Air Act. EPA, Volkswagen Clean Air Act civil settlement page
- 2017-05-17 Ruled The court approved the second partial settlement, covering 3.0-liter vehicles, under which Volkswagen contributed an additional $225 million to the mitigation trust. EPA, Volkswagen Clean Air Act civil settlement page
- 2020-05-25 Ruled Germany's Federal Court of Justice ruled in case VI ZR 252/19 that the buyer of a car fitted with an illegal defeat device has a damages claim against Volkswagen and can recover the purchase price, minus the benefit of the use already made of the car, in return for handing it over. Bundesgerichtshof press release No. 063/2020 (German)