The EU believes that BMW, Daimler and VW have agreed to develop clean emissions technologies.

The Commission believes that BMW, Daimler and VW have coordinated their AdBlue dosing strategies and delayed the use of Otto particle filters. AdBlue is a product based on urea designed to reduce the harmful emissions of nitrogen oxides from diesel cars. The Commission estimates that the three manufacturers limited AdBlue consumption between 2006 and 2014, resulting in mainly more harmful emissions. They also suspect BMW, Daimler and VW of collaborating to prevent the introduction of Otto particulate filters, designed to reduce particulate emissions from gas car exhausts, between 2009 and 2014 on the models.

Of course, it does not appear that around the same time, VW was in the middle of "Dieselgate" and was selling cars with software designed to override the stringent emissions tests of the Environmental Protection Agency. The company has already been indicted by the federal government in the United States and, earlier this month, the US Securities and Exchange Commission added that it blamed VW and its former CEO, Martin defrauding US investors.

BMW, Daimler and VW then have the opportunity to appeal in writing suspicions from the European Union and to request an oral hearing. If the Commission continues to believe that the parties have violated the antitrust rules, car manufacturers could be fined up to 10% of their annual global annual turnover. The risk is that companies increase their prices to comply with these fines. Ultimately, consumers could bear the burden of this penalty – in addition to suffering the consequences of higher emissions than necessary.