As Court Rejects Ex-Audi CEO's Prison Appeal, Automaker Chooses Its Future Boss: Report
Rupert Stadler, whose reign as CEO of Audi came to an end after his June arrest, won’t walk out the front doors of his Bavarian jail anytime soon. A Munich court has rejected the former auto executive’s appeal for release.
The appeal came nearly a month ago, around the same time Stadler — suspected of fraud in the diesel emissions scandal — stopped talking to prosecutors. The reason for the court’s decision is the same reason why a judge remanded Stadler in custody back in June. Worries remain that he might tamper with evidence if freed.
Meanwhile, there’s change brewing at the top of Audi’s corporate hierarchy.
In a statement reported by Reuters, the Munich court said “that danger of obstructing justice remains. The release of the accused from custody was therefore rejected.”
In July, German media reported that Stadler made no confession during his “rough” interrogation, mentioning that his arrest came about from fears that the executive might attempt to influence witnesses. Stadler continues to deny any involvement in the diesel affair, which saw millions of Volkswagen Group vehicles outfitted with smog-spewing engine over the period of many years. The engines contained software that fooled environmental regulators by turning on emissions controls only during static tests.
After Stadler stepped down, Audi appointed former sales and marketing boss Bram Schot as interim CEO. If a report from Germany’s Automobilwoche (via Autocar) proves true, Schot’s reign ends on January 1st of 2019.
Markus Duesmann, BMW’s former head of engine development and purchasing, is said to become Audi’s next CEO. Duesmann joined the Volkswagen Group board of management last week. The ex-BMW executive, who rubbed elbows with VW Group CEO Herbert Diess when both worked for the rival automaker, was instantly seen as an obvious Stadler successor. It’s not hard to see why someone with a baggage-free background at another automaker might prove an attractive pick.
[Image: Audi]
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"Markus Duesmann, BMW’s former head of engine development and purchasing, is said to become Audi’s next CEO." "It’s not hard to see why someone with a baggage-free background at another automaker might prove an attractive pick." If he worked with BMW's engines, he worked with BMW's diesels. At this point, I thought everyone's diesels were suspect, so I wouldn't automatically assume he's baggage-free.
Hope this proves as an eye-opener to those self-loathing Americans who constantly rant about copying everything European or Asian. I don't know if that's the case in Germany (I suspect it is), but in other European countries, when you get arrested for a crime you are GUILTY until proven innocent.