Four Former VW Employees Go on Trial in Dieselgate Lawsuit

A combination picture shows the four defendants at the start of the trial of former Volkswagen executives charged with misconduct over their role in the carmaker's manipulation of diesel emissions testing, in Brunswick, Germany on Sept. 16, 2021. Julian Stratenschulte/Pool via Reuters

BRAUNSCHWEIG, Germany—Four former employees of carmaker Volkswagen went on trial on Thursday over the Dieselgate scandal in which illegal software was used to cheat emission tests.

The trial, being held in the city of Braunschweig, close to Volkswagen’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, started without former CEO Martin Winterkorn, whose separate trial will take place at a later date.