Bosch Warned Volkswagen About Illegal Software Back in 2007

Bosch reportedly warned Volkswagen on its illegal software use in 2007 but the German automaker ignored the warnings.

The engine management software is the center of the controversial discovery that Volkswagen cheated on diesel emissions tests and in addition to Robert Bosch warning Volkswagen in 2007, one of the German automaker’s own engineers warned the company in 2011 about illegal emissions testing practices. According to German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, Bosch supplied diesel software to Volkswagen for testing purposes but it eventually ended up on road-going, production vehicles.

SEE ALSO: Ex-VW CEO Winterkorn Now Facing Criminal Investigation

The publication also noted that the scandal began in 2005 when then-Volkswagen brand chief Wolfgang Bernhard wanted to develop a new diesel enginef or the U.S. market. It appeared that the only way to produce an engine that would meet U.S. emission standards was to use an AdBlue urea solution that would have cost around $335 per vehicle, a sum that finance officials at Volkswagen said was too high.

After Bernhard left Volkswagen in 2007, Martin Winterkorn became VW Group and brand CEO and tasked Audi development boss Ulrich Hackenberg to continue development on the engine. It appears that the engine eventually used software manipulated to fool diesel emissions tests in the U.S.

[Source: Automotive News]

Discuss this story on our Volkswagen Forum