Germany Investigates Audi Emissions in Europe, Widening VW Inquiry -<br />By MELISSA EDDYJUNE 2, 2017<br />BERLIN — German prosecutors have widened a criminal investigation into Volkswagen’s Audi unit after authorities accused the luxury carmaker of installing a system designed to evade emissions rules in cars in Europe, a major shift for an inquiry<br />that has previously concentrated on the United States.<br />Audi said in a statement issued after the announcement<br />that it would begin recalling the vehicles starting in July to correct emissions levels of nitrogen oxide that can “exceed the limit by a factor of up to two.”<br />The Audis affected included software designed to ensure<br />that a urea solution that neutralizes the emissions was administered in high enough doses only in a controlled test-lab environment.<br />Munich prosecutors searched Audi offices in March as part of a criminal investigation into<br />Audi’s behavior in the United States, threatening a crucial source of badly needed profit.<br />The automaker has already agreed to pay $22 billion in penalties<br />and settlements in the United States and pleaded guilty to its vast emissions deception, which involved a variety of Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche-branded vehicles.
