Penalties of billions, imprisonment, and driver license revocations
In a shocking revelation, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uncovered that diesel cars from the Volkswagen group were capable of recognising when they were being tested, only complying with the required emission limits during testing. This scandal, dubbed Dieselgate, affected millions of vehicles worldwide.
The manipulated cars, totaling over 10.85 million according to Volkswagen's annual reports for 2015/16, were primarily registered in the then 28 EU member states. The core brand Volkswagen was most affected, with approximately 5.6 million cars involved, followed by Audi (2.4 million) and Škoda (1.2 million).
The fallout from Dieselgate was far-reaching. In 2017, Oliver Schmidt, a Volkswagen engineer and manager, was sentenced to seven years in prison and a $400,000 fine for his role in the scandal. Rupert Stadler, former Audi CEO, and Wolfgang Hatz, former development board member, were also sentenced to probation in 2023. In 2024, former CEO Martin Winterkorn faced charges of fraud, perjury, and market manipulation in a trial before the Braunschweig Regional Court.
The emissions scandal had a significant impact on the auto industry. The popularity of diesel engines has declined dramatically since the scandal. In September 2015, diesel vehicles accounted for 46.8% of the new car market, but today, their share has dropped to just 13.1%. In contrast, the market share of hybrid vehicles has grown significantly, with 39.8% of all newly registered cars having a hybrid drive in August 2025. The market share of pure electric vehicles is also above that of diesel cars, at 19.0%.
The emissions scandal also led to a wave of diesel driving bans in German cities. Hamburg was the first to impose a ban on May 31, 2018, on two street sections in the Altona district. Many other cities across Germany followed suit, either voluntarily or under pressure from courts after environmental organizations successfully sued for driving bans, citing the right to clean air. However, as air quality improves, these bans are being lifted in some cases. Munich, which was supposed to tighten its diesel driving ban in 2023, instead introduced a 30 km/h speed limit on a section of the Mittlerer Ring.
The emissions scandal also had a significant impact on Volkswagen's financials. The company had to pay over 20 billion dollars (currently around 16.9 billion euros) in fines in the United States, which is approximately half of its total Dieselgate fines of about 33 billion euros. In mid-September 2025, a court in Germany decided that more than 100,000 customers in the Netherlands must be compensated by Volkswagen for the emissions scandal, with costs to the company amounting to a high eight- or low nine-digit euro figure.
Despite the challenges, some see a silver lining in the emissions scandal. Olaf Lies, Lower Saxony's Minister President, believes that the diesel scandal has accelerated Volkswagen's switch to e-mobility and that there has been a cultural shift within the company, with responsibility and trust being handled more sensitively. As the auto industry continues to evolve, it remains to be seen how Dieselgate will shape its future.
Read also:
- Two farmers in Zambia take legal action against two firms with Chinese connections, alleging an ecological disaster caused by their operations.
- Deepening EU-India relations despite apprehensions regarding Moscow connections
- Ongoing Transition Towards Cleanliness
- "Revival of 'Zombie' Power Plant Proposal in Massachusetts"
