Ex-Porsche boss Wiedeking as a witness in court
Wiedeking had not thought that engineers at Volkswagen could consider illegal defeat devices.
(Photo: dpa)
In the test case against the VW umbrella company Porsche SE (PSE) in the course of the diesel scandal, former CEO Wendelin Wiedeking denied any knowledge of exhaust gas manipulation at Volkswagen. Wiedeking said on Wednesday before the Stuttgart Higher Regional Court: “I was quite shocked and disappointed that illegal things were being done.”
Wiedeking said he only found out about the events from the press. It never occurred to him that engineers at Volkswagen could consider illegal defeat devices. Wiedeking, who was also the head of car manufacturer Porsche, was a member of the VW supervisory board from 2006 to 2009.
The 70-year-old former car manager continued: “I’m not a friend of the diesel engine.” In the afternoon, the court also wanted to hear the former CFO of the umbrella company, Holger Haerter, as a witness. He was once also a member of the VW supervisory board.
The legal dispute concerns claims for damages by PSE shareholders. They accuse the major shareholder of Volkswagen of having informed too late about the emissions scandal.
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The planned hearing of witnesses is intended to clarify whether a decision by Volkswagen in June 2008, alleged by a shareholder, to sell vehicles with an EA 189 engine equipped with an impermissible defeat device, has since represented insider information for the holding company – and whether this may therefore violate a disclosure obligation became.
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