Audi to recall new diesels after emissions cheating software found to be installed

22 January 2018 German vehicle manufacturer Audi has been ordered to issue a recall for 127,000 vehicles after the country’s KBA motor transport authority, the KBA, detected illegal emission control software. The recall involves the company’s latest Euro 6 diesel models, with the A4, A5, A6, A7 and A8, together with the Q5 and Q7 SUVs implicated. This covers 77,600 vehicles throughout German, with the remainder based in Europe. The KBA has found that the affected cars’ engine management systems turn off emissions-reducing measures in real-world traffic while allowing them to work on a test bench, a report in the newspaper Bild am Sonntag suggested. The KBA is threatening to withdraw type approval for the latest generation of Audi’s A8 range-topping, the paper continued. Audi said the models had been included in a voluntary recall of 850,000 diesel vehicles with V-6 and V-8 TDI engines announced in July. ′The engine control software for the vehicles in question will be completely revised, tested and submitted to the KBA for approval,’ Audi said in a statement. The manufacturer said it has been examining its diesel cars for potential irregularities for months in close cooperation with the KBA. ′As part of this systematic and detailed assessment, the KBA has now also issued a notice regarding Audi models with V-6 TDI engines,’ it said. In November, Audi announced a recall of almost 5,000 vehicles around Europe for a software fix after discovering they emitted too much nitrogen oxide (NOx), this is in addition to the vehicles being recalled under the terms of the German diesel summit held in August. Audi has had a troubled year when it comes to the emissions scandal, with the announcement in June that it was under investigation for cheating emissions testing in Germany, the first recorded accusation that the VW Group had done wrong in Europe. In July, the German manufacturer launched a recall for up to 850,000 diesel cars in order to update vehicle software controlling emissions, in a bid to avoid potential city driving bans. The service is also being offered to Porsche and Volkswagen brand cars using the same six and eight-cylinder Euro 5 and Euro 6 engines. Audi is part of the Volkswagen Group, which was found to be evading US emissions tests with cheating software in 2015. The company has been trying to clean up its image since. However, Audi has recently been drawn further into the scandal. Despite this, the company dissolved the task force it set up to investigate how many of its cars were affected by the cheat software earlier in 2017, believing it was able to move forward from the scandal. However, in May 2017, CEO Rupert Stadler suggested the company needed to put effort into this task. Audi is planning to look at investment in electric vehicle technology, and is developing an electric platform with Porsche, which it will use in its push to bring more electric vehicles to market, and become a market leader in the technology, ahead of other German car makers. VW aims to have 80 EVs on sale by 2025 while Daimler will bring its EQ electric range to market by 2020. Photograph courtesy of Audi