I n Wolfsburg drops one defense line after the other. The thesis of transitional boss Müller, the board of VW had known nothing – had cheated only a few dozen engine developers – broke up in the air when the US Justice issued arrest warrants for his predecessor Winterkorn, who no longer leaves Germany, since threaten him in America 25 years imprisonment.
Now sitting with Audi CEO Stadler a member of the VW board in German pre-trial detention, because of blackout, as the prosecutor Munich says. Like a bomb, this message burst into a regular board meeting of Volkswagen , Practically, the inspectors were then able to determine the successor of Stadler, for which of course the presumption of innocence applies.
Why the leadership of Audi was not replaced much earlier, is the secret of the VW Supervisory Board and the owner families Porsche and Piëch. Because Stadler never stood at the head of the Enlightenment, but always reassured and abducted in the diesel scandal, many have long been calling for his resignation.
Workup according to salami tactics
Meanwhile, it is clear that Audi was the germ of the exhaust gas fraud in the VW Group. Here the software for the control of the engines was developed, which millions in the marks VW, Audi, Porsche , Skoda and Seat were installed. Winterkorn came from Audi and also ruled as VW boss there. Probably not coincidentally sits the former engine chief of Audi and later development board of Porsche also in custody – even for nine months. It is also known in Wolfsburg that Audi has a fundamental management problem, which has meanwhile hit the products and eroded the previously strong market position.
Not only the long pre-trial detention raises questions, but also the handling of the scandal by the supervisory board of VW. For months, high-paying investigators of an American law firm have scoured the corporation. Contrary to the previous announcement, the investigation result was not published. Why? Were guilty names named? If it should be proven that board members of VW knew about the fraud, the VW supervisory board chairman Pötsch must ask uncomfortable questions. After all, he was CFO under Winterkorn.
The rest is done by the politicians
The recently appointed new CEO of VW, Diess, however, can fill the role of the enlightener credible because it comes from outside. He called on the leaders of the group for the last time to get all the bodies from the cellars. But that does not seem to have arrived everywhere in VW’s huge empire. For three years, the group has praised the improvement and promises enlightenment. In fact, VW pursues a salami tactic up to the board. Only what judicial authorities, state supervisors or journalists have previously revealed is admitted.
The hesitant reconditioning by VW pulls the whole German car industry into the Vorudel of the diesel fraud. Why does not BMW strike a firebreak between itself and the fraudsters of VW? So the American and Chinese competitors are watching with relish, as the German premium manufacturers from misunderstood Corpsgeist first squander their reputation and then their lead in engine development. The rest is done by excited politicians, who drive environmental lobbyists with diligence in front of him.