German Carmakers Face Potential New Scandal Over Antitrust Issues
By JACK EWINGJULY 22, 2017
FRANKFURT — Germany’s high-end carmakers face a potentially destructive new scandal after European antitrust authorities said on Saturday
that they were looking into allegations that Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW colluded illegally to hold down the prices of crucial technology, including emissions equipment.
Growing awareness of the harmful effects of diesel fumes has prompted European cities to consider bans of diesel cars
and has led consumers to reject cars with diesel engines, a largely German innovation that traditionally accounted for half the market.
“Since the diesel scandal began two years ago trust in the German auto industry has been sinking on a daily basis,” Ferdinand
Dudenhöffer, a professor at the University of Duisburg-Essen who follows the industry, said in an email on Saturday.
In a statement on Saturday, the European Commission partially confirmed a report in Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine
that said the authorities were investigating evidence that representatives of the automakers met regularly to agree on technical specifications for everything from brakes to clutches to emissions systems.
The broad conspiracy described by Der Spiegel included dozens of working committees
that discussed how to limit competition on new technologies, including emissions systems.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has tried to distance herself from the auto industry amid criticism
that her government has lobbied for lax European emissions regulations that contributed to the scandal.