Audi CEO Rupert Stadler will face questions over gasoline defeat devices

[Suarez™]

Audi CEO Rupert Stadler will be questioned by U.S. law firm Jones Day over reports of defeat devices in a number of gasoline-engined models, Reuters reports. The law firm was hired by VW to conduct an internal investigation into the diesel scandal along with auditing firm Deloitte, devoting dozens of investigators to examine records and interview current and former employees about the creation of defeat devices in 2.0-liter TDI models.

Stadler has been CEO and chairman of the board of Audi AG since 2010, and has already been interviewed by Jones Day in connection with the diesel probe, the preliminary results of which have been held back by VW.

The move was prompted by reports of the discovery of defeat devices in several Audi models including the A6, A8, Q5 and Q7 that use the 3.0-liter gasoline engine. The German weekly Welt am Sonntag first reported over a week ago that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) had known for several months about software which uses automatic transmission programs to vary vehicles' CO2 output by detecting if they are being tested for emissions. The sophisticated sofware is suspected of having been used by Audi models until relatively recently, and could also be triggered by a button inside the car by those with knowledge of its operation.

U.S. law firm Hagens Berman filed a class action lawsuit against Audi this week, alleging that the automaker used defeat devices in at least six models equipped with the 3.0-liter gasoline engine paired with automatic transmissions.