Prosecutors in Germany have fined auto parts manufacturer Bosch (dba Robert Bosch GmbH) €90 million, or $100 million U.S., for its role in the 2015 Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal.
Bosch allegedly delivered millions of engine control systems that caused vehicles to spew out more nitrogen oxide than regulations allowed. Bosch was “fined for a negligent violation of supervisory obligations, and that the company had decided not to appeal,” according to an announcement made by prosecutors in Stuttgart on May 23.
In Germany, the VW cheating scandal is being referred to as “Dieslegate.”
The €90 million tally consists of a penalty of €2 million, while the remaining €88 million covers the estimated economic benefit Bosch gained from its alleged role in the emissions cheating, reported thelocal.de.
Bosch officials announced that the company, “will continue to expand its compliance organization continuously in order to minimize the risk of violations of applicable law.”
Forbes magazine termed the fine as “relatively light.”
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The legal complaint states that Bosch delivered around 17 million motor control and mixture control devices to various domestic and foreign manufacturers, some of whose software contained illegal strategies.”
“It was Bosch’s technical prowess that facilitated the trickery allowing VW to bamboozle regulators—until a nongovernmental organization blew the scheme apart by performing its own tests on the emissions of VW models,” wrote Doron Levin in Forbes.
Law firm Constantine Cannon, LLP. noted that, “Bosch, the world’s largest automotive supplier, developed the engine management control software used to provide emissions testers with false results. The scheme went on for several years before coming to light in 2015.”
Before this most recent settlement, “Bosch has been embroiled in the emissions scandal from the start and has previously agreed to a $327.5 million U.S. civil settlement for supplying software to Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche that enabled cheating on emissions tests,” wrote Constantine Cannon.
