BMW, Volkswagen, Audi fined $1B by EU over emissions cartel

BMW and Volkswagen are said to have been fined by the European Commission for conspiring to stop using the emissions cleaning technology they developed. Based on the reports, the German automakers had to pay $1 billion or €875 million for the offense.

The EU decision to fine BMW and Volkswagen

It was revealed on Thursday, July 8, that this is a different case from what was called the “Dieselgate” scandal where they made software to manipulate vehicle emissions tests. According to Reuters, in this case, discussions were held concerning the design standards for AdBlue, an exhaust fluid used to reduce the amount of air pollution produced by diesel-powered vehicles by cleansing nitrogen oxide from the exhaust gases.

Margrethe Vestager, the head of the European Union antitrust commission, said that German car manufacturers, including Porsche and Volkswagen, own a technology that can cut down harmful emissions to as much as above the required amount under the EU law, however, they avoided competing to do so.

Now, under a settlement, it was reported that Volkswagen would be paying €502 million and BMW €373 million in fines. Daimler is also part of the cartel but was not fined as it was the one who revealed about the cartel.

"This is a first," Margrethe Vestager, the head of European Union antitrust, told the media via a press conference that was held in Brussels. "We have never had a cartel whose purpose was to restrict the use of novel technology. "So today's decision is about how legitimate technical cooperation went wrong and we do not tolerate it when companies collude."

The involved carmakers’ response to the probe and fine

Vestager shared that all the involved companies agreed to settle and each has acknowledged its role in the cartel. However, CNN Business reported that Volkswagen is considering taking legal action as it thinks the penalty about emissions technology “set a questionable precedent.”

"The Commission is entering a new judicial territory because it is treating technical cooperation for the first time as an antitrust violation," a rep from Volkswagen stated. The company added that the fine had been imposed even if no customer has been harmed.