Plan to fix Audi engines

The Volkswagen Group has prepared and submitted for approval updated engine management software for its US versions of three-litre TDI diesel engines installed in Audis. The revised software alters the auxiliary emission control devices (AECD) – the so-called defeat devices – to bring the vehicles into compliance with emissions laws enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board. The group will install the rewritten software on all affected US models once it is approved by the agencies. Audi estimates installing the new software may reach into the “mid-double-digit millions of euros”. The changed software amends three defeat devices that control vehicle exhaust emissions systems Audi admits it did not previously disclose to the EPA. Meanwhile, German prosecutors have widened their investigation of Volkswagen to include suspicion of tax evasion. It centres on five employees who have yet to be named. The focus of the probe is on tax breaks Volkswagen received for producing low-polluting cars it may not have qualified for if the emissions had been correctly reported.