German carmakers’ ‘cartel’

GERMANY’S biggest carmakers are being investigated on suspicion of operating a secret technology cartel for the past 20 years, which led to the emissions scandal, it was claimed last night.

Daimler, BMW, Volkswagen and the two VW subsidiaries Porsche and Audi have been meeting in secret to agree on what technology they will offer their customers, according to allegations published in Spiegel magazine.

The collusion was a direct cause of the diesel emissions scandal at VW two years ago, after the five carmakers agreed to limit genuine emissions cleaning technology, the German mag- azine alleged. The companies are now under investigation by both the German anti-trust office and the European Commission, it claimed.

Authorities declined to confirm the report, citing ongoing investigations. The companies all refused to comment.

The explosive claims come at the end of a bruising week for the German car industry. Daimler AG recalled more than three million Mercedes-benz diesel cars to lower their emissions, while Audi yesterday announced a recall of 850,000 vehicles.