SEAT

German prosecutors from Braunschweig have filed charges against three current and former Volkswagen executives for failing to warn investors early enough about the financial implications of the Dieselgate emissions cheating scheme. The three men charged are the Volkswagen Group's current CEO Herbert Diess, its current chairman Hans Dieter Pötsch, and Martin Winterkorn, the company's CEO at the time the scandal broke.

The facelifted Seat Ateca has been spied during development testing in the Austrian Alps, ahead of an anticipated launch sometime next year. Despite the camouflage wrap adorning the front end it doesn't look like there will be drastic changes for the Spanish crossover, likely limited to revised bumper details and rejigged headlights.

Martin Winterkorn, former Volkswagen Group CEO, was last week charged for offences related to the company's Dieselgate saga. Prosecutors claim Winterkorn didn't inform customers about the company's emissions cheating software and failed to stop the company from using such software at the earliest possible instance. Due to the company's delayed reaction, it was hit with large punitive fines by both German and American authorities.

The Cupra Formentor concept will be given its in-the-flesh debut at the 2019 Geneva motor show, which kicks off at the beginning of March. Although the car that will go on stage in Geneva is billed as a concept, it looks production ready — check out the interior and its proper wing mirrors! — and is likely based on the Seat Ateca crossover.

A US federal grand jury last week indicted four senior managers — Richard Bauder, Axel Eiser, Stefan Knirsch and Carsten Nagel — for their role in developing and covering up the emissions testing defeat device fitted to the Audi-designed 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 engine. All four held senior management positions at Audi's diesel design centres in Neckarsulm and Ingolstadt, Germany. All four are believed to still reside in Germany.