By Steven Symes 
The Dieselgate scandal might have been revealed a long time ago, but four former VW employees were just sentenced to prison in Germany. The men were found to have been key in the diesel emissions coverup scheme which duped governments and consumers into believing cars were polluting less than they were.
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The four men were subjected to a four-year trial in Braunschweig Regional Court. That long of a trial seems crazy to us as Americans. Then again, everything around the Dieselgate case seems a little off.
Receiving the stiffest consequences was Jens Hadler, lead for Volkswagen diesel engine development from 2007 to 2011. He received a four and a half year prison sentence in a German court, reports Bloomberg.
Hanno Jelden, a lead engineer, was sentenced to two years, seven months for aggravated fraud. Heinz-Jakob Neusser, a former executive, was given a suspended sentence of one year and three months in prison.
Finally, a lower-level manager only known as Thorsten D. received a suspended sentence of one year and ten months.
Almost ten years ago, it was discovered Volkswagen had been using software which lowered emissions while diesel-powered cars were having their emissions monitored. After a long investigation, it was determined about 9 million vehicles sold in the US and Europe had the manipulative software installed, although the court case only considered 4 million of those.
Some have openly wondered if the Dieselgate scandal wasn’t some elaborate plan to eliminate diesel cars and push people into EVs. It certainly has made diesel-powered cars from Europe obsolete and likely helped get some consumers to buy electric cars.
Another consequence of the scandal has been stricter testing standards for vehicle emissions and government oversight. While we can’t say whether any of the scandal was engineered to lead to those consequences, we can say the fallout has helped reshape the auto industry.
Image via Volkswagen