A Volkswagen engineer admitted guilt last Friday to charges of helping to create the illegal emissions device installed into VW diesel vehicles that was designed to provide false information.
After pleading guilty, James Liang, 62, agreed to cooperation with US prosecutors who are working on a criminal case against the German manufacturer.
His case was heard in a federal court in Detroit, Michigan.
More than half a million diesel vehicles sold in the US had been equipped with the so-called ‘defeat devices’ designed to mislead inspectors into thinking the emissions were below the strict criteria applied in the US.
Worldwide, 11 million diesel cars were sold.
"Almost from the beginning of VW's process to design its new 'clean diesel' vehicles, Liang and his fellow co-conspirators designed these VW diesel vehicles not to meet US emissions standards, but to cheat the testing process by making it appear as if diesel vehicles met US emissions standards when, in fact, they did not," the Justice Department said in a 24-page indictment.
The indictment accused him of helping develop the software programme from the earliest stages from November 2006 while working as an engineer at VW’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany.
It also said that the software was designed to keep emissions low when a vehicle was being tested to adhere to environmental regulations, but when the vehicle was on the open road its emissions were far higher to boost fuel efficiency.
VW in 2008 enhanced its marketing in the US of its “clean diesel” cars with high fuel efficiency in order to increase sales. Liang became “Leader of Diesel Competence” in California at that time, although still reporting to VW in Germany.
The indictment said Liang and others consistently misrepresented the system to federal and state environmental regulators and lied about the issue when regulators probed the discrepancy between the cars' testing and actual emissions performance.
"Liang and his co-conspirators attempted to make it appear that there were innocent mechanical and technological problems to blame, while secretly knowing that the primary reason for the discrepancy was the defeat device installed in every VW diesel vehicle sold in the United States."
Liang is the first official to be indicted in the US. He could receive a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
He reportedly expressed regret to the court.
The scandal broke in September 2015 when US and California regulators exposed the emissions conspiracy. Global condemnation and law suits ensued and are likely to continue.
