July 9, 2021
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union (EU) yesterday handed down USD1 billion in fines to four major German car manufacturers, saying they colluded to limit the development and rollout of car emission control systems.
Daimler, BMW, VW, Audi and Porsche avoided competing on technology to restrict pollution from gasoline and diesel passenger cars, the European Commission said.
Daimler wasn’t fined after it revealed the cartel to the European Commission.
EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said that even though the companies had the technology to cut harmful emissions beyond legal limits, they avoided to compete and denied consumers the chance to buy less polluting cars.