{"id":2130,"date":"2018-09-19T13:35:39","date_gmt":"2018-09-19T13:35:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/europeandrussiablog\/?p=2130"},"modified":"2018-09-19T13:35:39","modified_gmt":"2018-09-19T13:35:39","slug":"bmw-daimler-and-volkswagen-face-collusion-investigation-in-europe-image","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/europeandrussiablog\/2018\/09\/19\/bmw-daimler-and-volkswagen-face-collusion-investigation-in-europe-image\/","title":{"rendered":"BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen Face Collusion Investigation in Europe Image"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

Germany\u2019s biggest carmakers were already facing public criticism after an emissions cheating scandal at Volkswagen. Now, they are under formal investigation.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0European Commission opened an inquiry<\/a>\u00a0on Tuesday into possible collusion among BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen to prevent the development of clean emissions technology. The investigation adds to a series of problems for the German auto industry, the country\u2019s biggest employer and exporter, which is grappling with the consequences of Volkswagen\u2019s diesel deception, as well as a long-term shift toward electric vehicles and the threat of auto tariffs from the United States.<\/p>\n

The announcement by the commission, the European Union\u2019s executive arm, comes nearly a year after officials\u00a0searched the German automakers\u2019 offices<\/a>\u00a0as part of an initial inquiry into possible price fixing. The commission said on Tuesday that it had information indicating that the companies had participated in meetings where they discussed technology to limit harmful emissions. The investigation will try to establish whether the automakers sought to limit the development or rollout of systems to reduce harmful nitrogen oxide emissions from diesel cars or filters to reduce emissions from gasoline engine cars.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese technologies aim at making passenger cars less damaging to the environment,\u201d Margrethe Vestager, the European Union\u2019s competition commissioner, said in a statement. \u201cIf proven, this collusion may have denied consumers the opportunity to buy less-polluting cars, despite the technology being available to the manufacturers.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

The commission said it had no information indicating that the companies had coordinated over the use of illegal defeat devices in regulatory testing. German carmakers meet routinely to discuss technical standards for components, but these discussions might be deemed illegal if they agree to limit competition in certain areas.<\/p>\n

In its statement, the commission named the three major carmakers, as well as the Volkswagen luxury units Audi and Porsche, as part of the inquiry. All three companies said they would not be commenting on the case, but were cooperating with investigators.<\/p>\n

The companies \u2014 the commission referred to them as the \u201ccircle of five\u201d \u2014 have spent decades promoting diesel engines, and are still struggling with the fallout of the emissions scandal in which some 11 million Volkswagen vehicles worldwide were fitted with illegal software that could detect when the cars were undergoing emissions tests.<\/p>\n

As a result, sales of diesel cars across Europe have been falling, while sales of electric cars are growing sharply, a trend that German carmakers have been slow to capitalize on. BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen could also suffer if President Trump follows through on a threat to impose hefty tariffs on European cars imported into the United States.<\/p>\n

Volkswagen, which has admitted to the cheating, in particular has not made sufficient progress in repairing the shortcomings in company culture that led to the scandal, according to a\u00a0recent report by a lawyer<\/a>\u00a0appointed to monitor the company\u2019s behavior.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n