German court delays ex-Volkswagen’s boss trial after accident

Former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn’s trial dates this week have been cancelled after he was admitted to hospital for treatment following an accident, a German court said on Monday.

The ex-boss of Europe’s top car maker went on trial at the start of September over the “dieselgate” scandal, nine years after the saga first plunged the auto titan into crisis.

Questions about Winterkorn’s health have hung over the proceedings. Earlier attempts to bring him to trial were repeatedly postponed due to his poor health, and he had to undergo an operation months before the trial began.

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The court where he is on trial, in the city of Braunschweig, said hearings scheduled for this past Wednesday and Thursday had been cancelled.

“The court has been informed that Winterkorn is currently in hospital following an accident in his home,” the court, which is near Volkswagen’s historic Wolfsburg headquarters, said in a statement.

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It did not give further details about his condition but said a further statement will be issued “in the coming weeks” about whether his health problems will stop the trial continuing.

Some 89 hearings have been scheduled in the trial, through September 2025.

Volkswagen admitted in 2015 installing software to rig emissions levels in millions of diesel vehicles worldwide, setting off one of Germany’s biggest post-war industrial scandals.

Winterkorn is facing charges including fraud and market manipulation over the so-called defeat devices, which made cars appear less polluting in lab tests than they were on the road.

He could be jailed for up to 10 years if convicted. He denies all the allegations.

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