Volkswagen AG’s Porsche unit agreed to pay 535 million euros (US$599 million) to end a probe by Stuttgart prosecutors into the diesel-rigged engines used in its sports cars.
The carmaker accepts the fine, which was part of an ongoing criminal investigation targeting managers who worked at the Porsche brand, the Stuttgart prosecutors office said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. The penalty covers the sale of cars since 2009 that were equipped with V6 and V8 engines from VW’s Audi AG.
The Porsche brand itself never developed diesel engines but its managers failed to properly supervise their use in the vehicles, leading to the probe, Volkswagen’s sports car unit said Tuesday in a statement. Volkswagen added a provision for the fine in the first quarter and the unit will book the impact in the second quarter.
With the settlement, Volkswagen completes its deals with German prosecutors over the sale of rigged cars. VW last year settled with Braunschweig investigators for 1 billion euros under the same kind of proceedings and its Audi unit followed by paying 800 million euros to Munich prosecutors. VW said last week the overall impact of the diesel issue has now reached 30 billion euros.
By Karin Matussek and Christoph Rauwald, with assistance from Christopher Elser
