Audi’s two biggest factories were raided today by German prosecutors as part of the ongoing investigation into the diesel emissions scandal.
The raid is the first since the scandal broke a year and a half ago and was specifically in connection to the Audi, VW, and Porsche 3.0-liter TDI engines.
“With these search orders we aim to clarify in particular who was involved in deploying the technology concerned and in the provision of false information to third parties,” the Munich prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
No suspects were named, but the Münchners did say that the raid involved prosecutors from several jurisdictions as well as state police from Lower Saxony, Baden-Wuerttenberg, and Bavaria.
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As well as the two Audi factories, prosecutors also raided offices and private apartments. Audi CEO Rupert Stadler, though, said that his apartment was not targeted by the raids.
The raid comes at a bad time for Audi, which was, at the time, talking about its disappointing 2016 financial results during the VW Group’s annual press conference.
Audi has said that it is interested in getting to the bottom of the emissions scandal and finding those responsible.
“I have all along supported efforts to clear up the diesel issue at Audi,” Stadler said.
Offices in Ingolstadt are of particular interest because of a report from Germany’s Handelsblatt that accused Audi of having created the defeat device used in the emissions scandal and used it as early as 1999, before handing it off to VW.
According to the prosecutors, the raid had solely to do with TDIs sold in America, not Europe.
[Source: Automotive News]
