German company Continental fined 100 million euros for Dieselgate

Automotive supplier Continental has been fined 100 million euros (107.16 million dollars) for breaching its oversight duties in connection with the Dieselgate emissions scandal, German prosecutors said on Thursday.

Prosecutors in Hanover, where Continental is headquartered, said they imposed the fine following an investigation into emissions manipulation against the corporation and other parts of the company.

Continental said in a statement that the fine takes into account its full cooperation and assistance in resolving the matter, as well as its strengthened compliance structures. Considering the harm to the public, the fine is a very limited sanction that indicates the judiciary’s understanding of the great German companies.

Continental accepts the fine and waives its right to appeal. The sanction is mild, considering the dimension of the scandal.

First reported by Wirtschaftswoche, the public prosecutor’s office has set a six-week deadline for the fine’s payment.

The Dieselgate scandal rocked the German automotive industry in 2015 when it emerged that cars had been fitted with illegal software to cheat emissions tests.

Other suppliers were also fined in connection with the scandal, including ZF Friedrichshafen and Bosch, the world’s largest supplier of car parts.

The fines against Volkswagen, where the manipulations were first uncovered, amounted to 1 billion euros. However, all the subcontractors were complicit in a system that falsified the emission readings of diesel cars, making them always appear consistent with legal requirements, even when they were not.