New software cheat allegations rock Audi

Company allegedly deleted gearbox software, fired engineers after more emissions-dodging software was found in 2015. 

A report in a German business magazine has revealed that US authorities discovered more emissions-dodging software aboard an Audi last year, forcing the Volkswagen-owned premium car maker to take action.

Bild am Sonntag reported that the vehicle - thought to be an all-wheel-drive car with a traditional automatic gearbox – was equipped with transmission software that could allegedly detect whether the steering was straight or angled.

Testing by the Californian Air Resources Board – the body behind the original engine emissions-cheating software revelations that have rocked the company for more than 12 months – discovered the gearbox anomaly.

If the steering wheel was straight, the software allegedly triggered a different shifting map that lowered CO2 emissions. Once more than 15 degree of lock was detected, the shift map allegedly turned off.

The cost cutting could see the life of the current MQB platform stretch out to more than a quarter of a century.

The report suggests that Audi stopped using the software in May this year after an investigation saw several engineers dismissed over the affair.

The software is not related to the same engine management computer ‘cheat code’ that could detect if a car was in a testing environment and adjust nitrous oxide output accordingly.

The code has been linked to 11 million VW products sold around the world, with the company looking at a rectification bill that could eventually reach A$100 billion. 

The company is in the midst of a culture shift as a result, with Audi leaving Le Mans racing, VW dumping its successful World Rally Championship program and a massive cost-savings push under way at a production level.

The cost cutting could see the life of the current MQB platform – which underpins everything from VW Golfs to Skoda Kodiaqs – stretch out to more than a quarter of a century, while other platforms are deleted all together.

The revelations come as German prosecutors are widening an investigation into suspected stock market manipulation based on VW’s non-disclosure of the scandal.

The investigation, which has roped in former VW CEO Martin Winterkorn and head of brand Herbert Diess, will now investigate supervisory board Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch, who was the head of VW Group finance from 2003 to 2015. 

He is also the CEO of Porsche.

Can it get worse for the VW Group? Tell us what you think in the comments below.