Robert Bosch GmbH agreed to pay 90 million euros (US$100 million) to end a probe by German prosecutors into rigged diesel engines, following much more costly settlements by its customer Volkswagen AG.
Bosch is being fined for “negligent breach of supervision duties,” the prosecutor’s office in Stuttgart said Thursday in an emailed statement. The company supplied about 17 million engine-control devices to German and international automakers since 2008 that partly included illegal software functions, according to the statement.
The unlisted German car-parts giant supplied engine-control systems to VW that were used in the engines at the heart of the diesel-emissions scandal that shattered the world’s largest automaker in September 2015. It’s also involved in ongoing probes into diesel technology at manufacturers including Fiat Chrysler NV and General Motors Co.
VW has now ended all probes by German prosecutors against its units over the sale of rigged cars. It last year settled with Braunschweig investigators for 1 billion euros and Audi followed by paying 800 million euros to Munich prosecutors. The overall impact of the diesel crisis has now reached 30 billion euros at Volkswagen.
The initiative to install illicit software in engines was apparently taken by employees from automakers, but investigations into the roles of individual Bosch employees are ongoing, the prosecutor’s office said.
Bosch confirmed the settlement and said 2 million euros of the fine are for the alleged regulatory offense and 88 million euros for the disgorgement of economic benefits.
“Bosch will continue to expand its compliance organization continuously in order to minimize the risk of violations of applicable law occurring at the company,” the company said.
By Christoph Rauwald and Karin Matussek
