Luxury car brand Audi has confirmed that 2.1 million of its cars around the world were outfitted with software that enabled them to cheat emissions standards. The announcement clarifies Audi's role in the diesel emissions scandal roiling its parent company, Volkswagen.
The German automaker admitted last week to installing the software in some 11 million cars around the world; that figure includes the 2.1 million Audi cars, spokesman Jürgen De Graeve said.
Around the world, the affected Audi models include the A1, A3, A4, A5, A6, TT, Q3 and Q5, but the scope was more limited in the United States, where diesel cars are less popular.
About 13,000 of the cars were in the United States, where only the A3 model was affected, Audi USA spokesman Brad Stertz said.
This isn't the first time Audi has faced a massive scandal because of trouble with its cars. In 1987, the automaker was forced to recall more than 250,000 cars because they accelerated unexpectedly.
Audi's sales in the US tanked after the revelation, and it took more than a decade for them to rebound, highlighting the challenge Volkswagen and its luxury brand could now face as it tries to win back customers' trust amid a scandal centering on deception, Deutsche Bank analysts wrote in a research note last week.
Back in the days, Audi suffered a massive loss in reputation and this wasn't even about cheating, the analysts wrote.
Volkswagen shares plunged on Monday, falling 8% in afternoon trading. About two-fifths its stock market value has been wiped out since the scandal erupted.
The potential cost of the scandal to Volkswagen is still unknown, but it is expected to be staggering for the world's largest automaker.
It could be subject to up to $18 billion in fines from the EPA alone and is under investigation by the Justice Department.
Government officials in Germany and other parts of Europe have launched separate probes, including one into its former chief executive, Martin Winterkorn, who resigned last week.
Top Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesVolkswagen, Audi.....next?
Sep 29th, 2015 - 03:00 pm 0#2
Sep 29th, 2015 - 04:16 pm 0Obviously Skoda as they use VW engines.
The amount of hypocrisy in the face of cheating corporations is astounding. It goes on to show how ridiculous the trickle-down theory that says: let us be rich and we'll perhaps give you a job.
Sep 29th, 2015 - 04:34 pm 0Instead, these sorry stories show people should not be sitting and waiting for corporations to do the right thing.
In spite of the myth created by interested parties, a democratic state remains the only hope that wealth will be shared as we go--not in a distant, nebulous future.
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