VW diesel crisis deepens
Following last week’s news that Volkswagen admitted tampering with diesel emission ratings in the US, and possibly worldwide, new leaked documents show that Bosch, warned VW in 2007 over the legality of ‘defeat devices’.
The German engineering firm, is said to have explained in a memo to VW that use of the software to manipulate results would be against the law.
A letter from 2007 warned against using the software during regular operation, according to an internal VW investigation seen by German weekly Bild am Sonntag.
Bosch is understood to have delivered the software to Volkswagen on the basis that it was test purposes and not for normal driving mode.
The company has previously confirmed it delivered components for regulating diesel exhaust systems to Volkswagen.
The scandal has rocked the motor industry and Volkswagens CEO Martin Winterkorn announced his resignation as result of the ‘diesel dupe’, he has now been replaced by CEO of Porsche Matthias Müeller.
Some 11 million VW diesel cars built since 2008 are thought to be affected by the scandal. In Britain, more than 200,000 Volkswagen and Audi cars could be recalled to remove the devices and Switzerland banned sales of Volkswagen diesel cars in the most severe step taken so far by a government in reaction to the emissions crisis.
