German Carmakers Face Potential New Scandal Over Antitrust Issues<br />By JACK EWINGJULY 22, 2017<br />FRANKFURT — Germany’s high-end carmakers face a potentially destructive new scandal after European antitrust authorities said on Saturday<br />that they were looking into allegations that Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW colluded illegally to hold down the prices of crucial technology, including emissions equipment.<br />Growing awareness of the harmful effects of diesel fumes has prompted European cities to consider bans of diesel cars<br />and has led consumers to reject cars with diesel engines, a largely German innovation that traditionally accounted for half the market.<br />“Since the diesel scandal began two years ago trust in the German auto industry has been sinking on a daily basis,” Ferdinand<br />Dudenhöffer, a professor at the University of Duisburg-Essen who follows the industry, said in an email on Saturday.<br />In a statement on Saturday, the European Commission partially confirmed a report in Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine<br />that said the authorities were investigating evidence that representatives of the automakers met regularly to agree on technical specifications for everything from brakes to clutches to emissions systems.<br />The broad conspiracy described by Der Spiegel included dozens of working committees<br />that discussed how to limit competition on new technologies, including emissions systems.<br />Chancellor Angela Merkel has tried to distance herself from the auto industry amid criticism<br />that her government has lobbied for lax European emissions regulations that contributed to the scandal.
