autoevolution
 

German Prosecutors Raid Audi's Offices And Facilities, Dieselgate To Blame

About a year and a half after the Volkswagen Group admitted to employing an emissions testing cheat, German investigators raided the offices of Audi.
MY2013 Audi A3 2.0 TDI engine bay 1 photo
Photo: Audi
This is a first for the four-ringed brand, but not a surprise if you think about the fact that it is an important part of the Volkswagen Group. According to multiple sources, German prosecutors raided Audi’s headquarters, and its two biggest factories in the automaker’s homeland.

Volkswagen’s headquarters in Wolfsburg were not spared of the search, and investigators also checked six other unspecified facilities.

Unlike the situation with VW, the investigation that sent prosecutors to the offices of Audi was focused on the 3.0-liter V6 TDI engines that were used in its luxury models.

The same engine was also shared with Porsche, and both variants of the power plant must be recalled across the world once the proposed fix will be approved by the authorities of the countries where it was marketed.

As Automotive News remarks, this raid coincided with the day when Rupert Stadler, the CEO of Audi, was presenting the annual earnings report during a major press conference.

German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung noted that the prosecutors had learned of the gathering at a time when it was too late to adjust the schedule of the search, which implies that the coincidence was entirely unintentional.

Evidently, reporters who were present at the event asked the company’s CEO about the situation, and Stadler’s reply was that he “has always supported efforts to clarify the diesel issue at Audi.” The four ringed brand's leader also noted that the efforts to recover from the scandal are “far from over.”

Sources close to the matter told some journalists that homes of Audi and Volkswagen employees were examined, but Rupert Stadler has responded that his residence is not among them.

If the search was not enough bad news for Audi, the results of last year have noted a 37 percent drop in operating profit when compared to 2015. The return on sales fell to by 3.2 percent from 2015’ results, which led to a final figure of 5.1%, well below the targeted range, which is between 8-10%.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories