In September 2015, Martin Winterkorn resigns as head of the VW Group – the diesel exhaust scandal has flared up at the latest. But he starts ten years earlier. A chronicle.
Friday, 04.05.2018
14:42 clock
With Martin Winterkorn now for years the unrestricted number one of the Volkswagen Group charged because of the diesel scandal – in the US. The prosecutor in Detroit accuses him in a 42-page indictment conspiracy to fraud, Since 2006, VW has manipulated the exhaust fumes of diesel engines and knowledgeable US authorities and customers for years knowingly, the investigators write in it.
In fact, the diesel scandal begins about ten years before Winterkorn’s resignation from the group’s CEO. A chronicle of the genesis until the fraud was discovered in September 2015, based on US Justice documents and publications by VW:
2005
Volkswagen is making the strategic decision to launch a large-scale diesel offensive in the US – despite the much stricter limits for pollutant emissions there.
2006
VW tinkering with the two-liter diesel engine EA 189, Audi develops the larger three-liter engines. However, the developers soon realize that the engines will not meet the stricter emission regulations that will apply in the US from 2007 onwards. As a result, a defeat device is being developed that reduces emissions in test situations to fool US environmental agencies.
May: The US prosecutor accuses Winterkorn – at that time still Audi boss – from then on to have been involved in the conspiracy to fraud.
May 17: A VW engineer describes the software developed by Audi in an e-mail to the VW developers. He warns against their use in US diesel engines, because it serves only the evasion of exhaust gas tests.
November: A development manager decides after a meeting with employees that the “defeat device” will be used in US diesel engines. Just do not get caught.
2007
January 1: Martin Winterkorn replaces Bernd Pischetsrieder as VW CEO.
October 5: There are always technical issues with the development of diesel engines and discussions in the team responsible for compliance with emissions standards in the US. At a meeting, a manager decides to continue with the manipulated engines.
2008
VW launches the “Clean Diesel” advertising campaign in the US – the Jetta TDI is named “Green Car of the Year” at the auto show in Los Angeles.
Finally understandable
2009
VW models with the manipulated two-liter diesel engines come in the US on the market. Larger VW models as well as Audi and Porsche vehicles are sold with the engineered three-liter engine.
2013
February: The California Environmental Protection Agency (CARB) commissions the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) research institute to review exhaust emissions from VW diesel vehicles.
Spring: A Jetta built in 2012 and a Passat built in 2013 on the streets around Los Angeles. The result: In normal operation, the exhaust emissions are up to 35 times higher than in the laboratory. The data will be analyzed more closely.
2014
March: VW employees learn about the results of the ICCT study. In the following weeks, CARB Volkswagen asks for an explanation of exhaust emissions. In the VW development department, a task force is set up to formulate answers to the questions of the environmental authority. It is decided to cooperate seemingly with the US authorities, but to deny the existence of a “defeat device”.
May 23: According to VW, a note about the ICCT study of the weekend mail from CEO Winterkorn is enclosed. Whether he read this is not documented. According to the US Attorney’s Office, this email explicitly mentions that US authorities are looking for a defeat device, a “defeat device”, in VW diesel engines.
October 1: In a meeting with the CARB VW representatives explain the higher emissions with technical reasons and driving behavior, the “defeat device” is not mentioned.
November 14: According to VW, there is a second note to Winterkorn, in which there are about 20 million euros in diesel fuel costs in North America.
2015
July 27: According to VW, individual employees discuss the topic of diesel on the sidelines of a routine meeting in the presence of Winterkorn and VW brand manager Herbert Diess. According to the US Attorney’s Office, the leading VW management, including Winterkorn, will be informed on this day about the “defeat device” and also about the fact that the US authorities are not yet aware of this. Employees suggest that the fraud software not be disclosed to the US authorities. “Winterkorn agreed to this plan,” the complaint says.
18 August: VW managers decide that they continue to lie at a meeting scheduled for the next day with CARB representatives and do not mention the “defeat device”.
August 19: Contrary to this specification, a VW representative in the conversation with the CARB indicates that a software downregulates exhaust emissions in test situations.
End of August: According to Volkswagen, VW technicians explain in-house lawyers and US lawyers the actual cause of the deviations in exhaust emissions. Board members then came to the conclusion that this was an inadmissible “defeat device”. This should be communicated transparently to CARB and the US Environmental Protection Agency EPA.
September 3: In a conference call with CARB and EPA, VW admits the manipulation of exhaust emissions.
September 4: Winterkorn is informed about this by a note. According to VW consultants explain that such violations in the United States have so far been regulated in the settlement by a fine, which are not particularly high for companies of the size of VW. The group had expected a double-digit or lower three-digit million amount.
September 18: The EPA publishes the confession in the evening: VW purposely bypassed emissions regulations for around 500,000 diesel vehicles. The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates a possible penalty of up to $ 18 billion.
September 20: VW now admits the exhaust manipulations publicly and announces an external investigation.
September 21: On the first exchange trading day after the public confession, the VW share crashes by 20 percent.
September 23: VW boss Winterkorn resigns.