Audi Allegedly Developed VW's Emissions Fixing Software Way Back In 1999

According to a report in German newspaper Handelsblatt, the emissions rigging software used by VW to cheat tests was originally created by Audi 17 years ago
Audi Allegedly Developed VW's Emissions Fixing Software Way Back In 1999

It wasn’t until around 2009 that VW started using emissions rigging software in its cars, but according to a report in German newspaper Handelsblatt, the software had already been around for 10 years at that point. Citing company and industry sources, the paper reports that Audi engineers created software which could turn off “certain engine functions” way back in 1999, but the company itself never used it.

Instead, parent firm VW used the software to cheat emissions tests by altering the way its cars ran when under test conditions. In the end, it emerged 11 million cars had been subject to emissions fiddling. VW and Audi have so far declined to comment on Handelsblatt’s report due to the ongoing investigation into the scandal.

Meanwhile, Mitsubishi has admitted that it has also dabbled in emissions test rigging, with 625,000 cars affected. The announcement has wiped $1.2 billion off the company’s value.

Source: Handelsblatt Via Reuters

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Comments

Wai Ning Lai

It’s that clever. Which then took us 16 years to find out about it.
I guess it wasn’t… emmisionized.

04/20/2016 - 11:14 |
55 | 1
04/20/2016 - 11:26 |
29 | 0
Adrian Rivero

Vorsprung durch cheating

04/20/2016 - 11:19 |
34 | 2
Anonymous

Haha…Volkswagen has been pulling on Audi’s strings since the 60s when they bought them. This doesn’t, rather shouldn’t, alleviate anything off of VW for a dirty move like that.

04/20/2016 - 11:20 |
5 | 2
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Lol “dirty move like that”, usa really don’t like European companies getting under its skin, is it? German engine run way better than the crappy ecoboost you have there, specially the diesel ones, you should know that VW didn’t have to use the software in europe because he cars were clean enough but no the usa has to make those ridiculously strict tests, do you really think the made them that way so you can have clean air, no check again factories pollution is way more significant but if they let the better made cars sell freely in america who’s gonna buy from the local companies?

04/21/2016 - 09:20 |
3 | 0
JenstheGTIfreak (pizza)

And do we care? No.

04/20/2016 - 11:24 |
6 | 10

Butthurt. Gti Freak. Sorry but its reality.

04/20/2016 - 11:30 |
0 | 7

Only people who don’t like Volkswagen care. People are still buying from VW, so the emission can’t be a massive concern.

04/20/2016 - 12:38 |
6 | 0

thanks for the reminder about the date, gonna roll myself a fatty :)

04/20/2016 - 11:26 |
5 | 4
Anonymous

These car companies are faker than most girls make up

04/20/2016 - 11:42 |
17 | 3
Deus Robert Paulsen

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

True

04/20/2016 - 11:59 |
2 | 1
Anonymous

.

04/20/2016 - 11:47 |
1 | 0
German Car Guy

But the didn’t use it, it was first VW who used it

04/20/2016 - 12:09 |
1 | 3

They were the first caught using it.. Not the first using it..

04/20/2016 - 23:27 |
0 | 0
Anonymous
04/20/2016 - 12:28 |
21 | 3
James Marshall

I do hope the one positive thing to come out of all this is a significant change to the European (and indeed, worldwide) emissions tests, as surely these major manufacturers wouldn’t need to bother spending likely absurd amounts of money to create devices such as these if the tests were more accurate?

04/20/2016 - 13:00 |
0 | 0