Volkswagen will pay $4.3bn in fines after pleading guilty to three criminal charges connected with its emissions-cheating scandal on the US market. The penalties, among the biggest ever achieved, according to the US Attorney General’s office, is in addition to the $15bn civil settlement VW agreed to pay to US environmental authorities and car owners. The company has been put on probation for the next three years, during which time it will be overseen by an independent monitor. The US Department of Justice says the German car manufacturer sold diesel vehicles fitted with software that cheated emissions tests and then lied to cover up the long-running scam. VW chief exec Matthias Müller said the company “deeply regrets” its actions, while Hans Dieter Pötsch, chairman of the group’s supervisory board, added that “We are no longer the same company we were 16 months ago.” News emerged earlier this month that top VW managers knew about the emissions cheating at least two months prior to the story breaking in 2015 but chose not to alert US regulators. Six VW executives are currently being prosecuted for their role in the scandal.
The car marker reported its worldwide sales increased last year by 3.8 percent to a record 10.3 million vehicles. While sales in China were up 12.2 percent, its volume on the US market dropped 2.6 percent in 2016.
