Audi appoints permanent replacement for ‘dieselgate’ suspect Rupert Stadler

Audi has appointed a permanent replacement for former chief executive Rupert Stadler who is facing trial over the ‘dieselgate’ emissions scandal.

Bram Schot will take up the position as chairman of the board of management at Audi AG from January 1, having held the role of chief executive on an interim basis since June.

He will also temporarily hold board of management responsibility for sales and marketing from the same date.

Dutchman Schot took up the interim role following the arrest of Stadler in connection with the ‘dieselgate’ emissions scandal that has engulfed the Volkswagen Group brands since 2015. In October this year, Audi was fined €800m (circa £720m) for its involvement in the scandal, which saw ‘cheat devices’ fitted to a number of diesel engines.

The software restricted engine output under test conditions to meet emissions regulations – bringing them to a level that couldn’t be recreated in real-world driving.

Herbert Diess, Audi supervisory board chairman and Volkswagen Group chief executive, said: “With the appointment of a new chairman of the board of management, we have laid important groundwork for Audi’s future orientation. As interim CEO, Bram Schot has already done a convincing job in recent months.

“He is pushing forward with the cultural change in his team and is effectively tackling the current challenges. With the benefit of a strong mandate, he will further accelerate the transformation of the company and lead the Four Rings to new successes.”

Stadler, 55, was arrested in June and held in custody on pre-trial detention until October, when he was released on appeal despite a court’s opposition on the grounds of a ‘danger of obstructing justice’. He was officially removed from his post and the Volkswagen Group board the same month and is still being investigated, but claims not to know anything about the emissions-cheating software.