Porsche 911 in 2008
The older series is suspected of being tampered with.
(Photo: dpa)
Düsseldorf Porsche is investigating possible new manipulations on its cars with an internal investigation. The Stuttgart VW subsidiary is checking whether individual models have been changed again after they have been type approved by the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA).
This time, however, it is not about the notorious diesel engines from the Volkswagen Group and the associated exhaust gas manipulation, but above all about gasoline engines. The 911 and Panamera models, developed between 2008 and 2013, are affected. First, “Bild am Sonntag” reported on it.
Porsche confirmed the in-house investigations into the Handelsblatt on Sunday due to possible illegal changes after the type approval. The Stuttgart VW subsidiary is consistently working on the past until 2008. “And there we found a few indications of possible misconduct,” said company circles. Porsche “proactively” informed the authorities about this in early summer. These include the Stuttgart public prosecutor, the Federal Motor Transport Authority and the US judiciary. The company is interested in clearing up the processes.
As with the other VW group brands, the diesel and exhaust gas manipulation have so far been the focus at Porsche. But in view of the new in-house investigations, models with gasoline engines are now under suspicion, above all the Panamera and the 911, the classics from the product range of the car manufacturer from Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen.
The alleged manipulations affect Porsche’s core business. Gasoline engines are installed in the vast majority of the cars from Stuttgart. Diesel engines were rather the exception and have even been removed from the range in the meantime. Porsche does not provide any information about the number of vehicles now affected. But it could be a higher five-digit number of cars.
In the new suspected case, it is said that Porsche engineers could have made technical changes to the cars in series production after approval by the KBA. Mechanical components and software are equally affected, it was said in Stuttgart. With the subsequent structural changes, the Porsche vehicles would have lost their road approval and would therefore be illegally on the roads. If the new suspicion is correct, the Porsche engineers would have behaved like tuners who manipulate cars without the approval of the TÜV.
Consumer advocates want to sue
It has been confirmed in company circles that the KBA has started extensive investigations at Porsche. In the development departments, “every stone is currently turned around”. Employees are summoned for discussions, hundreds of thousands of emails are examined and the minutes of meetings are analyzed. After such a long time, it was not easy to determine who made the changes to the cars, it said.
It is still unclear whether Porsche is threatened with possible financial consequences from the new investigations. Consumer advocates are already positioning themselves. “We have already prepared legal steps because of suspicious fuel consumption and emissions. The new developments do not surprise us, ”says Tobias Ulbrich. The lawyer advised the consumer advice center on the model lawsuit against VW.
The public prosecutor’s office could also open a new bill. The investigations against some managers are still ongoing. In May of last year, the sports car manufacturer paid a fine of 535 million euros for the diesel manipulation.
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