Mexican Media Brands
Report: Letter to Winterkorn in 2014 Flagged Diesel Cheating
Volkswagen AG’s then-CEO Martin Winterkorn was warned by letter two years ago that U.S. authorities were likely to look for cheater software in the company’s diesel-powered cars.
Share
Volkswagen AG’s then-CEO Martin Winterkorn was warned by letter two years ago that U.S. authorities were likely to look for cheater software in the company’s diesel-powered cars.
German newspaper Bild says a copy of the letter has been discovered by Jones Day, the American law firm hired last autumn by VW to probe the scandal. The report doesn't identify the writer It also isn’t clear whether Winterkorn, who has professed no knowledge of the cheating, actually read the message.
The letter said VW would be unable to explain why oxides of nitrogen emissions from its diesels were low during government tests but soared as soon as the tests ended. It predicted investigators would look for “test-recognition software” used to evade the regulatory requirement. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced last September it had discovered just such a mechanism.
VW admits installing the cheater software in 11 million diesels worldwide, including 8.5 million vehicles in Europe and some 580,000 cars and SUV/crossovers in the U.S. The company says the Jones Day investigation won’t be completed until April.
RELATED CONTENT
-
On Automotive: An All Electric Edition
A look at electric vehicle-related developments, from new products to recycling old batteries.
-
Jeeps Modified for Moab
On Easter morning in Moab, Utah, when the population of that exceedingly-hard-to-get-to town in one of the most beautiful settings on Earth has more than doubled, some people won’t be hunting for Easter eggs, but will be trying to get a good look at one of the vehicles six that Jeep has prepared for real-life, fast-feedback from the assembled at the annual Easter Jeep Safari.
-
On Fuel Cells, Battery Enclosures, and Lucid Air
A skateboard for fuel cells, building a better battery enclosure, what ADAS does, a big engine for boats, the curious case of lean production, what drivers think, and why Lucid is remarkable
