German Police Arrest Porsche’s Powertrain Chief

Police in Germany have arrested Joerg Kerner, who heads powertrain development for Porsche AG, because of his suspected involvement in diesel emission cheating.

Sources tell Reuters that Kerner (pictured) is being detained as a flight risk. An internal memo to employees from Porsche CEO Oliver Blume acknowledges that an unidentified manager has been arrested, according to Bild am Sonntag.

Between 1986 and 2004, Kerner worked at Robert Bosch GmbH on Audi gasoline engine control systems. He joined Audi in 2004 and became director of powertrain development at Porsche in 2011. Authorities have accused Audi and Bosch of developing the software that was employed by Volkswagen AG and its Audi and Porsche brands to rig 11 million diesels to evade vehicle emission laws.

Reuters says Kerner worked closely with Wolfgang Hatz, the former head of powertrains for VW Group. Hatz was arrested in the diesel cheating probe in September.

On Wednesday, prosecutors in Germany revealed they had raided several Porsche facilities and were investigating three management level suspects. One of them is management board member Michael Steiner, who heads Porsche’s r&d, according to the Munich-based newspaper Sueddeutsche.