German car shares plunge amid concerns over ‘cartel’
SHARES in Germany’s biggest car manufacturers plunged yesterday as investors digested allegations about decades of collusion between Volkswagen, BMW and Daimler.
Some €10bn (£8.9bn) has been wiped off the combined market value of the three car giants since reports first emerged claiming the companies may have secretly worked together on technology, forming a cartel that could have led to the “dieselgate” scandal.
The allegations come just days after Daimler recalled more than 3m of its Mercedes Benz cars for work to lower their emissions. The week before, Audi – owned by Volkswagen – recalled 850,000 vehicles.
The European Commission said it was looking into the claims. If it finds evidence of a cartel, the car firms could face multi-billion euro penalties. German authorities are investigating, with Spiegel magazine, which first reported the claims on Friday, saying evidence of collusion was uncovered when prosecutors raided VW offices looking into suspicions of a separate cartel involving steel.
The allegations have stirred angry responses among the firms’ employees, with VW calling an extraordinary meeting for tomorrow. and Daimler’s works council saying staff “are rightly horrified and angry” at the claims. Shares in the three firms have fallen by at least 5.5pc. On Sunday BMW categorically denied collusion. VW and Daimler have said they do not comment on “speculations and allegations”.