The big question – just how long ago did the German automotive giants have plans or ideas in place to solve their emissions problems by cheating the system?
Some bosses have claimed no knowledge at all; some have admitted finding out in the last couple of years; but in reality it’s hard to know just how long they may have had this planned unless people own up to it.
Fresh news has emerged that suggests Volkswagen may have had this planned, or considered taking such action, as far back as 1999 – a damning revelation, if true.
Newspaper Handlesblatt reported this week that engineers at Audi (a part of the Volkswagen Group) considered using software to rig emissions statistics in response to tighter environmental standards as early as 1999. This revelation, if true, also casts a huge amount of doubt on Volkswagen’s running story that the scandal emerged from Volkswagen itself – as opposed to Audi.
Interestingly the former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn, who stepped down after the scandal broke in the news, would have been head at Audi at the time, although he still claims he had no knowledge of the cheat devices at all.
The claim he had no knowledge remains one we’re not entirely convinced with, especially after alleged “warning signs” were present as far back as 2014.
We may never know how far back this goes…
The investigators charged with reviewing Volkswagens records to dig up more information about the scandal are reportedly fighting one heck of an uphill battle. As seen in other previous actions where an organisation has tried to pull the wool over the eyes of regulators, it’s hard to grasp the extent of it all because people who are breaking the law don’t tend to leave a recorded trail of what they’re doing!
We saw it in the huge multi-million pound PIP Breast Implants scandal claims we helped people for. The PIP company at the heart of the scandal, of course, had no record of which implants contained medical grade silicon, which they only used when they were under inspection, as opposed to the cheaper industrial grade silicon ones they used for most of them.
It leaves the very real possibility that we may never know just how far back and just how deep the scandal goes, unless people start owning up and telling the truth.
Joining our action
We have already initiated court proceedings against Volkswagen and our action is well underway. To join our action, contact us now for no win, no fee representation.
The content of this post/page was considered accurate at the time of the original posting and/or at the time of any posted revision. The content of this page may, therefore, be out of date. The information contained within this page does not constitute legal advice. Any reliance you place on the information contained within this page is done so at your own risk.