Trial of diesel scandal: Ex-Audi engineer: "Everything is determined from above"

What did the Audi board of management know about the diesel exhaust manipulation? There is a lot going on on the second day of the trial before the Munich Regional Court. At the center is the accused engineer Giovanni P., who has made serious allegations against his superior at the time.

Mutual recriminations shaped the second day of the Audi diesel trial before the Munich Regional Court. In statements by the defense attorney, the accused engine developer Giovanni P. admitted his involvement in the exhaust gas trickery, but saw himself in the role of a subordinate recipient of orders: "Everything was determined from above," said his lawyer Walter Lechner. The defenders of the former Audi engine boss Wolfgang Hatz accused Giovanni P. of lying. "Herr Hatz did not approve of such a thing," and he would have "never tolerated it," said his lawyer Gerson Trüg.

The indictment accuses former Audi boss Rupert Stadler and engineers Hatz, Giovanni P. and Henning L. of fraud. The three engineers are said to have worked together in 2008 to ensure that the large Audi diesel engines comply with the exhaust emission limits with the help of illegal software on the test bench, but exceed them on the road. According to the indictment, this should make it possible to sell the cars from 2009 without the subsequent installation of larger Adblue tanks for exhaust gas cleaning.

Stadler is said to have learned of tampering only in 2015, but did not stop sales in Europe. The former head of exhaust aftertreatment at Audi, Henning L., confessed his involvement in the exhaust gas trickery, but emphasized his current role as a scout. He and his employees had used significant parts of the cheat software, said his defender Maximilian Müller. "From his point of view, there was no decision at Audi to develop cheat software." Rather, that was the result of a "creeping development": The Diesel development team recognized that it could not fulfill supposedly immovable requirements from other teams and superiors.

"Nobody was brave enough to pull the rip cord"

Instead of openly declaring that they had failed at their task, the developers finally installed defeat devices. This is also due to the authoritarian corporate culture at Audi and in the VW Group at the time: Nobody who was directly involved in manipulation was brave enough to "pull the rip cord". Superiors were certainly clear that it would not work without "shitting". But his client was "not simply assigning blame upwards," emphasized Müller. In contrast to his co-defendants, Henning L. was never in custody. Stadler asked L. as a member of a task force in May 2016 "for unreserved clarification". L. then decided on his own initiative to disclose his knowledge to the authorities in the USA and Germany. "He's been delivering ever since," said the defender.

Stadler should also testify this Tuesday.

(Photo: dpa)

The head of Henning L., the department head Giovanni P., "has openly admitted his participation," as his defense lawyer Lechner said. But he emphasized: "Everything was determined from above". The problems with the too small Adblue tanks for exhaust gas purification were "known to all those involved up to the top of the VW and Audi group". The board of directors made the strategic decision. "Audi AG" belongs in the dock.

Defendant does not want anything to be concealed

Giovanni P. came to Audi with Hatz from Fiat in 2001 and, as a department head, only "passed on instructions from above to his employees". He had no decision-making authority, did not hide anything from his superiors and never deceived them. In contrast, Hatz's defense lawyer said that his client had never initiated manipulation. The accusation of the prosecution that Hatz had encouraged Giovanni P. to manipulate him and "approved" them all is untenable: the only source for this is "untrue information from Mr. P.", said Trüg. There is no email, no SMS, not a single written evidence for such a claim, despite years of investigation. That speaks clearly "for the innocence of Mr. Hatz", said his defense lawyer.

Stadler has so far always denied the prosecution's allegations and sees himself being duped by the technicians. The court budgeted more than two years for the trial. According to the defense lawyers, the defendants will have their own say in the next few weeks. All four have announced comprehensive statements.