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Germany Accuses Audi of Cheating on Diesel Emission Tests
Germany’s transport ministry has asked Volkswagen AG’s Audi unit to recall about 24,000 A7 and A8 large diesel-powered sedans sold in Europe, claiming the cars were rigged to evade emission limits.
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Germany’s transport ministry has asked Volkswagen AG’s Audi unit to recall about 24,000 A7 and A8 large diesel-powered sedans sold in Europe, claiming the cars were rigged to evade emission limits.
The request marks the first time Audi has been accused by its home country of manipulating diesel emissions, according to Reuters.
The ministry says affected 2009-2013 models with V-6 or V-8 diesels begin to emit twice the legal limit of nitrogen oxides—a pollutant linked to respiratory issues—if the steering wheel is turned more than 15°. Regulators say such behavior suggests the engines were equipped with illegal software that detects when an emission test is being conducted.
A source tells Reuters that Audi blames the non-compliant behavior on an error in the interaction between engine and transmission control software. Audi issued a recall for the cars, 14,000 of which are registered in Germany, on Thursday. But Reuters says software updates won’t begin until July.
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