Audi tried responsible for fake engines delivered by Volkswagen

In addition to Volkswagen, Audi also misled the registration authorities and its "immoral" customers, decided Thursday the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) of Karlsruhe.

The manufacturer of Ingolstadt put into circulation vehicles equipped with the EA 189 engine supplied by Volkswagen although "at least one responsible person (at Audi) knew that the engine was equipped with misleading software", writes the court, whichconfirmed four judgments of regional courts dating from the fall of 2020.

"The decision considerably strengthens the rights of the consumer concerned, because Audi must be responsible for manipulated engines which have been developed by Volkswagen," said lawyer Claus Goldenstein in a press release.

Audi will in turn have to pay damages, after in May 2020, the same federal court sentenced Volkswagen to reimburse a injured customer, a first who marked a setback for the manufacturer.

In 2018, Audi had already agreed to pay a fine of 800 million euros claimed by the Munich prosecutor's office having engaged its criminal responsibility.

The criminal trial of Rupert Stadler, former boss of Audi, started in 2020 and is still in progress.

The "dieselgate", which has given rise to numerous legal actions around the world, has already cost Volkswagen 30 billion euros, largely in the United States where the German group pleaded guilty of fraud in 2017.

Volkswagen had recognized in the fall of 2015 that it had equipped 11 million of its diesel vehicles with software capable of hiding emissions sometimes exceeding up to 40 times the authorized standards.Some 8.5 million vehicles were affected in Europe.

In Germany, the manufacturer concluded in April 2020 an amicable agreement with the VZBV consumer association, for at least 750 million euros.