Porsche cops close to $1 billion fine in 'Dieselgate' fallout

Porsche has confirmed it will not contest a AU$853.9 million (535 million euros) fine laid down by German prosecutors overnight for its role in the VW Group diesel cheating saga.

The fine relates to the company’s top brass “neglecting supervisory obligations linked to diesel emissions cheating” relating to Audi-sourced V6 and V8 diesel drivetrains (as used in the Cayenne SUV and Panamera hatch) produced since 2009, and the profits generated from them.

As the company had not developed the diesel engines itself, but relied on other parts of the VW Group, the fine is much less than the one paid by Volkswagen which amounted to a biblical AU$1.596 billion and Audi which paid AU$1.276 billion.

Volkswagen says the ‘Dieselgate’ scandal has so far cost the group the equivalent of almost AU$48 billion but is happy to have now settled its major dealings with German prosecutors.

There are still various executives on the hook for criminal charges, and ongoing issues with shareholders over the crisis.

Porsche is in the process of dumping diesel from its range, as is Audi and parent company Volkswagen which has demonstrated its commitment to electric drivetrains for the future with its I.D. range of concepts.

The ‘Dieselgate’ scandal – which started in 2014 over anomalies in VW vehicles discovered in a California Air Resources Board study – has gone on to embroil other automakers in controversy over emissions, including Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler and Jeep parent Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

In April 2017, Volkswagen paid an almost AU$4 billion dollar fine to US prosecutors over the original investigation. It has since come to light that so-called emissions test ‘defeat devices’ were installed on 11 million of its cars worldwide.

Over 90,000 vehicles were affected by the scandal in Australia, triggering an ACCC-approved recall to update software in the vehicles.

Porsche's fine pales in comparison to its investment in electric vehicles, where it estimates it has spent AU$10 billion on as of late 2018.

Was your car caught up in the ‘Dieselgate’ scandal? Share your experience in the comments below.