Robert Bosch GmbH, one of the world’s largest auto suppliers, agreed to pay additional fines for it role in the dieselgate scandal that has rocked the German auto industry.
German prosecutors in Stuttgart are investigating the inner workings of German companies tangled in the scandal, said Bosch, which supplies components and technology widely used in diesel engines. Bosch was fined $100 million dollars have fined due to its role in the diesel emissions scandal that erupted at Volkswagen in 2015.
Prosecutors said that the company, formally called Robert Bosch GmbH, was fined for a negligent violation of supervisory obligations, and that the company had decided not to appeal the decision of authorities.
Earler, Bosch had agreed to a $327.5 million civil settlement in the United States for supplying emissions software to Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche vehicles that enabled cheating on diesel emissions tests.
(Daimler, Bosch partner as latest to offer self-driving ride-sharing service. Click Here for the story.)
The diesel emissions scandal has cost Volkswagen more than $15 billion to cover the cost of the the extensive fallout, which also has led to charges being filed against senior executives and ending the careers of several others.
Other automakers and suppliers are fighting keep from being sucked under by the rip tide created by scandal at Volkswagen.
Daimler AG executives insisted again last week during the company’s annual shareholders that it never used rigged tests. Nonetheless the company acknowledged that while it cannot furnish a figure on the costs of the diesel scandal because much of the litigation remains unresolved, it has spent nearly $500 million defending itself and reviewing its conduct in the diesel scandal.
(Click Here for more about German automakers enduring more diesel scrutiny.)
In Bosch’s case, it delivered millions of engine control systems that were installed on various manufacturers’ cars starting in 2008 and whose software, in prosecutors’ words, “contained in part prohibited strategies” — leading to cars emitting more nitrogen oxide than permitted by regulators.
However, prosecutors in Stuttgart said they believe that “the initiative to integrate and shape the prohibited strategies came from employees of the auto manufacturers.”
They said that the fine does not affect ongoing criminal probes of Bosch employees. The bulk of the fine — 88 million euros — stems from profits on the sales of the parts, with the remaining 2 million euros covering the misdemeanor itself.
(To see why VW was tagged with $1B fine in Germany for diesel-cheating scandal, Click Here.)
Prosecutors said that they took account of Bosch managers’ full and constructive cooperation with investigators since the fabricated tests used by Volkswagen were uncovered back in 2015.
