New information obtained by investigators probing the VW diesel emissions scandal shows that the software used to manipulate emissions wasn’t developed by VW. The original ideas came from the luxury auto subsidiary Audi — and date back to 1999.But the illegal plan was never implemented at Audi. It wasn’t until years later that the software attracted new interest — in Wolfsburg, home to VW.In 2005, when VW engineers working on the infamous EA 189 engine failed to reduce the emissions of nitrogen oxide below the legal limit, they began installing the manipulation software devised by engineers at Audi. This software recognizes when a vehicle is on the test stand and reduces emissions. VW’s developers even adopted the terms coined by Audi, “acoustic mode” and “acoustic function,” the internal investigators found out.It’s been a complex process because VW has been negotiating with two different groups to reach out-of-court settlements: with the Department of Justice, the EPA, CARB and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on the one hand and with the almost 600,000 affected VW drivers on the other.According to information obtained by Handelsblatt, the most likely outcome is a partial success, but no definitive decision has been taken yet. In recent weeks, VW has devoted most of its efforts to negotiating a solution with the Department of Justice and the other authorities, said insiders.VW may reach a deal with the authorities Thursday on the size of the penalties and explain in detail how the affected cars are to be repaired.