Audi reportedly developed the defeat device Volkswagen used with its diesel engines to pass emissions tests.
According to German newspaper , Audi created the software that turned off certain engine functions in 1999, but never used it on its own vehicles. The report, which cited industry and company sources, added that Volkswagen engineers started to install the software six years later when they were unable to bring nitrogen oxide emissions below legal limits.
Both Volkswagen and Audi declined to comment on the report.
SEE ALSO: Volkswagen Confident that Diesel Fix will Help Company Avoid Lawsuits
In related news, Volkswagen investigators are having issues making progress through the data they have secured as part of the dieselgate scandal, citing that the German automaker used dozens of code words including “acoustic software,” for the defeat device software.
Investigators are going through data from more than 1,500 laptops and other devices and likely won’t have a complete report on Volkswagen’s diesel emissions scandal by the end of the month. The probe was expected to wrap up by the end of April but the obfuscation along with partly insufficient and outdated computer systems have made it difficult to find evidence to hold individual employees accountable, reports.
Approximately 450 internal and external investigations are focusing on about 20 employees surrounding the dieselgate scandal.
[Source: Reuters, Bloomberg]
