Overview
- The Braunschweig regional court opened a third large fraud trial tied to VW emissions cheating, with five defendants from the carmaker and a supplier.
- Prosecutors say the group helped design or support software that cut emissions only during lab tests, which misled buyers and regulators.
- The alleged conduct spans 2006 to 2015 and could bring multi‑year prison terms if the court finds the defendants guilty.
- A separate investor case against Volkswagen and Porsche SE has about 2,000 stayed lawsuits with roughly 3,400 parties and €4.3 billion at stake, with the next hearing set for May 12.
- The scandal’s reach now includes suppliers, with a planned Hannover trial targeting four former Continental executives for alleged help in about three million fraud cases.