It's fairly common knowledge that Volkswagen isn't the only car company that's been implicated in Dieselgate. To date, the likes of Audi, SEAT, Skoda and Porsche have also been found to have sold cars fitted with devices that allow the (diesel) engine to circumvent emissions test regulations. However, as you know, the firms listed are all part of the VW Group, so the controversy has been contained to the German conglomerate. That is until now, with a new report by Reuters implicating a third party.

In said article, it's claimed that the German engineering company Bosch (which supplies software and parts for Volkswagen to use in its cars) had been working "hand-in-glove" with Volkswagen to engineer the cheat device that's been found in certain VW Group diesel engines. According to the lawyers representing disgruntled Volkswagen customers in a new case that's been filed in the US District Court in San Francisco, new confidential documents it has access to indicate that Bosch was a "knowing and active participant" in the development of these controversial devices. Other details and assertions are being kept under seal for the time being, but the charges we do know of are pretty damning.

Especially as this wouldn't be the first time Bosch has been linked to the Dieselgate. Back in November 2015, Reuters also reported the US Department for Justice was investigating Bosch, in order to ascertain whether the company did have any involvement in the emissions-fiddling affair. At this early stage it's impossible to say whether Bosch is indeed at least partly responsible for the development of the cheat device. And, as the case has just been filed, we won't know the verdict for a good while now. Once the judgement is made, though, it'll be interesting to see what impact it'll have on the the VW diesel emission's crisis.