Audi CEO Arrested in Dieselgate Case

Rupert Stadler, Audi’s embattled CEO, was arrested Monday “as part of an investigation into diesel affairs and Audi engines,” according to a release from the Munich prosecutor’s office.

Stadler has not been found guilty of a crime yet so the presumption of innocence remains, but he is seen to be at risk of suppressing evidence, so a German judge ordered that he be remanded into custody.

The arrest follows a statement from German prosecutors last Monday, saying it would widen its investigation to include Stadler, among others.

Prosecutor’s made the arrest at Stadler’s Ingolstadt home early on Monday morning.

Stadler has been at the helm of Audi since 2010 and has been criticized in the past for his handling of the scandal. Still, the Audi board had enough faith in him to give him another five-year contract as CEO, while the Volkswagen board saw fit to put him in charge of Group Sales earlier this year.

Audi has yet to release a statement about the arrest, but a Porsche SE (the company that controls the VW group) spokesperson said that the issue would be discussed at a board meeting today.

Prosecutors said that this arrest was part of its own investigation and that it was not made at the behest of US authorities.

[source: Automotive News]

The post Audi CEO Arrested in Dieselgate Case appeared first on VWVortex.

from VWVortex https://ift.tt/2t6dD6i
via IFTTT

Comments

Watch: The Stig Drives (nearly) Seven Generations of Golf GTI

With Volkswagen announcing “major” updates to the Golf, it seems an appropriate time to look back on what we’ve had so far. And who better to guide us through the rich history of the most popular European car ever made than Ben Collins, the former Stig? Some say he’s never met a GTI he doesn’t love, and that he can’t grow any of his own facial hair. All we know is … Ben Collins is actually a pretty solid presenter. Working his way through seven generations of the GTI (skipping over the Mk6) Collins tells us a little bit about each one and matches each mark to its corresponding facial hair craze. The Mk1 GTI for instance, is light and quick, but can lose traction under hard acceleration (in heavy rain). Despite that, Collins calls the Mk1 a “pure gem.” The Mk4, meanwhile, is a powerful return to form after the perhaps too sensible Mk3. Collins ends in the only way he could, with the Mk7, which accelerates faster than a Lamborghini Countach and is all kinds of wonderful. Watch, ...

Watch: The Story of the Ads that Made VW Big in America

The ads for the original Beetle are almost as famous and well-loved as the Beetle itself. Looking back now it’s easy to forget, though, just how easily things could have wrong. A new short from Dial M Films tracks the history of those early Volkswagen ads that sold America on the people’s car. The story, of course, begins with the visionary agency that made the ads: Doyle Dane Bernach (DDB). As a popular agency for Jewish products, no agency was more aware of the implications of Volkswagen, and no one, it seems, was more skeptical of the brand than DDB. “Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads?” from Dial M Films on Vimeo . William Bernbach, though, was adament that the firm take the client, probably as a way of attracting other lucrative automotive clients. Saddled with a client that he didn’t want, art director Helmut Krone says in the film that he originally came up with ads that were all wrong. Krone tried to do what other manufacturers did and was intent on selling the Beetle ...

Watch: The Zerouno Cruis’n USA

ItalDesign is drumming up excitement for its new supercar based around the same 5.2-liter Audi V10 that powers the R8. Naturally, it hit the road for a cruise around California last week to celebrate Monterey Car Week. There isn’t much in the way of V10 noise—which is a real shame given the sound it makes—but you do at least get a good look at the car inside and out in this video. With a body made entirely of carbon fiber and designed to be as aerodynamic and light as possible, ItalDesign figures that it will be good for a 0-60 time of just 3.2 seconds. “We put it our best skills into the production of the first car,” said Massimo Bovi, head of pre-series production, when the Zerouno was first unveiled in Geneva earlier this year. “Using some of the finest productions methods and engaging our high-skilled workers.” The car features clever aero tricks gleaned from single-seat racing, like a y-duct up front to improve downforce and turn-in. Available in a number of trim levels, the...

Vorderman Volkswagen

Search This Blog