Audi masterminded the emissions-cheating software that led to the Volkswagen diesel scandal, according to a report in the German newspaper Handelsblatt.
Unnamed sources quoted by the paper said Audi developed the software in 1999 to “turn off certain engine functions” and that it was internally called “acoustic mode” or “acoustic function.” Sometime years later, Volkswagen began installing the software after engineers failed to cut nitrogen-oxide emissions to legal levels, according to the paper. Audi never used it, at least not initially, the paper said, although several Audi models have been implicated in the later scandal. A full report from Handelsblatt is expected Wednesday, while the U.S. law firm Jones Day, which has been leading an internal investigation for the Volkswagen Group since October, plans to release its report on the scandal later this month.
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The VW Group has to meet a Thursday, April 21 deadline to submit detailed repair plans to the Environmental Protection Agency. For more details on the Volkswagen diesel scandal, visit our main page.

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