Audi suspends tech boss
Knirsch named in Dieselgate investigation, German paper saysA German newspaper has reported that Audi is about to lose its second consecutive technical boss over the Dieselgate emissions-cheating scandal.
Bild am Sonntag has reported that Audi’s engineering boss and board member Stefan Knirsch has been asked to clear his desk and will be officially suspended this week.
It reported that Jones Day, the US law firm brought in to internally investigate the Dieselgate crisis, found that Knirsch not only knew about the software cheat on Audi’s 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel motors, but gave false testimony under oath.
He would become the second Audi engineering boss to stumble over the Dieselgate crisis, after replacing the widely respected chassis and suspension guru Dr Ulrich Hackenberg in January.
Hackenberg was among the first Volkswagen Group senior managers suspended over the four-cylinder Dieselgate crisis and subsequently retired.
While the scandal, which engulfed Volkswagen a year ago, initially centred on the EA189 four-cylinder turbodiesel engines from 1.2- to 2.0-litres, a similar software-coded cheat was also found on the 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesels developed and built by Audi then fitted to high-end Volkswagen and Porsche models.
The newspaper cited sources at the Volkswagen Group, and Volkswagen and Audi have refused to comment on our follow-up questions.
Before joining the board as Audi’s chief engineer, Knirsch headed its engine development unit.
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