Audi to recall 850,000 cars to fix emissions software

Firm says updates will be done on its Euro 5 and Euro 6 engines in a bid to reduce emissions

Audi is recalling 850,000 cars to update the software on Euro 5 and Euro 6 engines. Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters

Volkswagen's premium brand Audi is starting a voluntary recall of diesel cars, following a similar move by rival Mercedes-Benz as regulatory scrutiny of the
engines' hazardous pollution intensifies.
Audi will recall as many as 850,000 vehicles to update the software in Euro 5 and Euro 6 engines to reduce emissions and preempt cities' proposed driving bans, the Ingolstadt, Germany-based automaker said Friday in a statement. The action will be free of charge and also covers models of the Porsche and VW
brands that feature Audi-made engines.
"Audi aims to maintain the future viability of diesel engines for its customers and to make a contribution towards improving air quality," according to the statement. "At the same time, Audi is convinced that this program will counteract possible bans."
Diesel technology has been under assault since Volkswagen was found cheating on emissions tests nearly two years ago.
Since then, authorities around the world have stepped up their scrutiny of the autos, which burn less fuel than gasoline equivalents but emit smog-inducing nitrogen oxides. Cities from Munich to Mexico City have all made efforts to ban diesel cars from their roads.
That's put carmakers in Europe, where diesel accounts for roughly half of annual auto sales and tens of thousands of jobs, in a bind. They need the fuel to have a chance at meeting increasingly tightening environmental targets.
Mercedes owner Daimler, which is being probed in Germany for possible emissions cheating, this week announced a massive recall of almost all the diesel cars it sold in Europe in recent years. Audi, whose engines are also being tested by the government for possible violations, said it is cooperating with authorities and would make any additional required fixes.

* Bloomberg