Volkswagen emissions scandal

German prosecutors have widened their probe of Volkswagen's diesel emissions cheating scandal and are now investigating 17 employees, up from six employees previously, prosecutor Klaus Ziehe said on March 8. 

Volkswagen AG's current chairman and chief executive were alerted by the carmaker's former CEO to the use of illicit emissions-control software in the United States two weeks before the carmaker disclosed the scale of its manipulations, Bild am Sonntag reported, without citing the source of the information. 

European consumer organizations ask for Volkswagen to compensate its customers following the emissions scandal revealed last September when the company admitted it had cheated U.S. tests by using a software known as “defeat devices” to mask nitrogen oxide emissions.

In the United States, Volkswagen has promised to offer a $1,000 compensation to its clients.

The U.S. Justice Department on Jan. 4 filed a civil lawsuit against Volkswagen AG  for allegedly violating the Clean Air Act by installing illegal devices to impair emission control systems in nearly 600,000 vehicles.

European lawmakers approved on Dec. 17 a wide-ranging probe into the Volkswagen emissions scandal and allegations that EU regulators turned a blind eye to suspicious pollution testing of diesel cars.

Public prosecutors in the German city of Stuttgart are investigating whether staff at auto parts supplier Robert Bosch GmbH was involved in the rigging of emissions tests by Volkswagen (VW), the prosecutor's office said on Dec. 16.

Volkswagen said Dec. 10 the roots of the global pollution-cheating scandal it is currently engulfed in date back to 2005, and while the current situation was difficult, it would not break the company.

The number of new Volkswagen cars registered in Germany declined by 2 percent in November, but VW remained the biggest-selling brand in its home country, official data showed on Dec. 2.  
  

U.S. authorities are investigating German auto supplier Robert Bosch GmbH over its role in Volkswagen AG's massive scheme to cheat U.S. emission standards, according to people familiar with the matter.

Environment Minister Segolene Royal said Nov. 6 initial French tests had shown emissions cheating in Volkswagen group vehicles, but cars from other brands were in the clear.