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The European Commission has officially accused BMW, VW and Daimler of having agreed to hinder the deployment of emission limitation technology. These companies, whose automotive brands include Mercedes, Audi, Volkswagen, Porsche and BMW, would have limited and delayed the use of technologies that would have reduced emissions from diesel and gasoline cars.
The statement of objections issued today takes place one and a half years after the first search by the EU authorities of the offices of the three companies stating possible collusion. Earlier this year, Der Spiegel claimed that German carmakers had gathered in secret working groups dating back to the 1990s with the aim of hearing about diesel emissions. Last year, the commission announced the opening of a thorough investigation.
In relation to these initial reports, the EU Commission states in its statement that the collusion took place over a much shorter period. He accuses the three companies of collusion on two systems. Between 2006 and 2014, they agreed to limit the use of "Adblue" in their Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) systems for diesel cars. It also indicates that between 2009 and 2014, they conspired to delay or even avoid the launch of "otto" particulate filters (OPFs) that reduce oil emissions.
EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager has said that if collaboration to improve products is allowed, "EU competition rules do not allow [companies] hear about exactly the opposite: do not improve their products, do not compete on quality. "
With the publication of this Statement of Objections, BMW, VW and Daimler will have the opportunity to review and respond to the European Commission's findings before the authority takes a final decision. In addition to requiring companies to stop anti-competitive practices, the Commission could also impose a fine of up to 10% of their annual income, which could be worth billions of dollars in fines.
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