Volkswagen fined €1bn over emissions scandal

Volkswagen has been hit with an £880 million (€1bn) fine by the German public prosecutor for its global diesel emissions scandal.

The public prosecutor in the Germany city of Braunschweig found that globally 10.7 million diesel cars were fitted with emissions cheating software between 2007 and 2015, affecting 1.2 million British vehicles from Audi, Skoda, SEAT and Volkswagen.

The Germany carmaker acknowledged the ruling and has promised to pay the fine in full.

The German-based investigation found serious failings in Volkswagen’s manufacturing procedures with ‘monitoring duties’ being routinely breached at the Volkswagen’s powertrain development department when it came to vehicle tests.

In a statement, Volkswagen said: ‘Following thorough examination, Volkswagen Automotive Group accepts the fine and will not lodge an appeal against it. Volkswagen AG, by doing so, admits its responsibility for the diesel crisis and considers this as a further major step towards the latter being overcome.’

>> Manufacturers who cheat emissions test face £50,000 fine per car

Volkswagen has already pleaded guilty to three charges in the USA as part of a $4.3 billion (£3.2 billion) settlement with regulators over the scandal.

The German carmaker reportedly pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud, obstruction of justice and entry of goods by false statement. As well as paying billions in US fines, it has also agreed to buy back affected vehicles and pay compensation to customers.

In the UK, Volkswagen is in the process of defending itself against thousands of compensation claims from angry customers.

Since 2015, the German carmaker is thought to have bought back thousands of cars in the USA, however, it has openly refused to do the same in Europe arguing that it hasn’t technically broken any EU laws. As a result it has only offered European customers a technical fix to remove the software.

A survey carried out by law firm Slater and Gordon – which represents more than 40,000 Volkswagen owners affected by the emissions scandal in the UK – claims that 40 per cent of those questioned have suffered mechanical problems with their car since having the technical update, with one in 10 saying that their car had experienced a loss of power.