BERLIN -- Audi CEO Rupert Stadler will again be questioned by U.S. law firm Jones Day on a reported discovery of a new cheat software device that lowers CO2 emissions at the luxury car brand, two people familiar with the matter said.
Germany's Bild am Sonntag reported a week ago that a U.S. regulator had earlier this year found software in an Audi with automatic transmission capable of reducing CO2 emissions by detecting whether a car's steering wheel was turned as it would be when driving on a road.
Jones Day, commissioned by the supervisory boards of VW Group and Audi to investigate the diesel-emissions scandal, found no evidence against Stadler when it questioned the CEO in September about when he found out about the use of the software which triggered the emissions scandal 14 months ago.
Asked whether Stadler faces another probe by Jones Day, one of the people said: "Yes, that will be the case." The lawyers are requesting further information on what Stadler knew about the alleged discovery of the CO2 emissions-rigging software.
A date for Stadler's questioning hasn't been set yet, the person said.
Audi and VW declined comment.
The renewed questioning of Stadler hits Audi at a bad moment. The carmaker, together with parent VW, is hoping to reach an agreement with U.S. authorities soon to resolve the fate of about 80,000 polluting diesel 3.0-liter vehicles.
A U.S. judge earlier this month set a Dec. 1 deadline for a report on the status of the talks and said he was "very optimistic" that an agreement will be reached.
