The scandal, which quickly became known as "dieselgate", erupted in 2015. It was then revealed that the car giant Volkswagen deliberately cheated and made their diesel cars show significantly less emissions of nitric oxide than they actually emitted.

"A unique trial"

Volkswagen has lost around SEK 300 billion as a result of the scandal.

The person who has been singled out as the main person responsible for the cheating is the former CEO Martin Winterkorn.

In a settlement, he paid just over SEK 100 million to the car manufacturer.

SVT's EU reporter Christoffer Wendick is on site in Braunschweig in Germany, the industrial and research city in southeastern Lower Saxony, where the trial will begin on Thursday.

Just a short distance from Wolfsburg, where Volkswagen is headquartered.

- It is probably a unique trial that will begin here, says Christoffer Wendick.

- The judge has described this case as a suspected case of serious organized crime.

It is not that we expect to see any motorcycle vests or gang tattoos, but it is four former managers and engineers from one of the world's most famous car companies who will be brought to justice.

Millions of diesel cars were recalled

Jonas Fröberg, motoring journalist at Dagens Nyheter, describes it as "Germany's biggest corporate scandal of all time".

- But it is not only Volkswagen that has done this, but it is basically all car manufacturers.

It was a huge shame pillow, for the car industry, for the EU tops, for the governments and they almost secretly recalled cars, millions of cars, Mercedes, Oplar, around Europe, he says in Morgonstudion.

Swedish customers have also been affected.

The nine million Volkswagen cars that were rolled out also polluted the air significantly more than what was allowed, says SVT's Christoffer Wendick.

- I think that's why this lawsuit and this scandal have become so much bigger than just a gigantic consumer fraud.

With 133 days of hearings and about 40 witnesses to be heard, the trial is expected to last at least two years.

In the clip above, you can hear Christoffer Wendick talk about the background to the scandal itself.