Munich prosecutors stated they have broadened an investigation at Audi to take a look at the automaker’s sales in Germany and in other places of Europe after the government alleged the Volkswagen division of cheating on emissions tests in its home country.
Audi recalled around 24,000 older A7 and A8 models in Europe, 14,000 of them were sold in Germany, to upgrade transmission software, which it informed was causing nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions to surpass EU limitations.
Munich prosecutors have been examining Audi on suspicion of scams and criminal advertising in the United States where Volkswagen’s emissions scandal broke in September 2015. They have broadened the inquiry to include vehicles sales in the brand’s house area, a representative for prosecutors said.
Audi stated that it would continue to cooperate with authorities and Germany’s KBA automobile authority, which the automaker had alerted about the most recent emissions irregularities.
The impacted Audi models with so-called Euro-5 emission requirements, and constructed between 2009 and 2013, emit about twice the legal NOx limitations when the steering wheel is turned over 15 degrees, the German transport ministry stated.
Prosecutors said the suspicion in the Audi investigation still centered on fraud, adding they have not yet received upgraded information from the KBA on the scenario in Germany.
Their investigation came to a head in March after prosecutors investigated Audi’s headquarters in Ingolstadt with relation to the emissions scandal, along with a 2nd German plant and subsequently even the law firm that VW had employed to clear up dieselgate.
