German car manufacturer Volkswagen along with its luxury brand Audi announced that it has suspended two engineers that are implicated with the recently discovered emission test scandal.
On Nov. 19, Volkswagen and Audi notified United States regulators that more than 85,000 of their vehicles with V6 3.0-liter diesel engines were fitted with emission controlling equipment capable of cheating test regulations.
The emission controlling equipment were not disclosed to US regulators.
Audi said that it has launched an investigation in order to get to the bottom of the problem. The company added that it is trying to determine whether its employees in technical development and other departments deliberately added the emission controlling equipment.
In a statement acquired by Reuters, Audi acting chairman Berthold Huber said, "We are surprised and shocked by the emissions news from the US. Now the causes for such grave mistakes must be found and eliminated. This has utmost priority."
The V6 diesel engines were designed and assembled by Audi at its factory located in Neckarsul, Germany. The engines are widely used in premium car models from Audi, Volkswagen and Porsche. Reports indicate that affected engines bear the model years between 2009 through 2016.
The recent Audi suspension will put the current number of officials implicated to the scandal to eight, which include at least six working at a senior capacity.
Audi and Volkswagen still claim that the software installed on affected V6 engines are designed to the engine in order to enhance the reduction of nitrogen oxide emissions, according to The Wall Street Journal.