BMW Denies Claims it Cheated Pollution Tests on Diesel Cars

Giants of the German automotive industry BMW have denied they had been involved in any wrongdoing with regards to the manipulation of pollution test results in their diesel models. The declaration of innocence came in the wake of a September scandal which saw fellow German heavyweights Volkswagen implicated.

VW had admitted last week that they had installed software capable of cheating test results on more than 11 million vehicles worldwide, including in Europe and the United States. BMW hit back at claims by industry weekly Auto Bild that they were similarly responsible – an assertion that was alluded to (but not declared outright) by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT).

Heads Will Roll

Executives from both Audi and Porsche (which are both owned by VW) will be stepping down as a result of the revelations which have shocked the German automotive industry – typically one of the most powerful markets in the world. This is in addition to the CEO of the VW company as a whole Martin Winterkorn stepping down from his role in the immediate aftermath of the scandal.

VW had admitted to placing sophisticated computers into cars which were capable of determining whether or not their emissions were being tested for cleanliness. If so, vastly reduced amounts of nitrogen oxide were produced than at other times – thus manipulating the tests and giving them a lower overall pollution reading. As a result, it’s thought that there are more than 11 million VW vehicles on the road which spit out a substantial amount of harmful gases into the atmosphere, far in excess of EU regulations.

Auto Bild went on to accuse BMW of similar discrepancies in the compliance of their diesel engines, citing test results found by the ICCT on their X3 xDrive 20d diesel motors. These apparently demonstrated that BMW models were spewing out harmful gases at 11 times the recommended safety level imposed by the EU.

Stocks Fall Despite Denials

In an age where more and more emphasis is being placed upon improving air quality and reducing transport-related pollution, a scandal such as this could decimate the reputation of companies who fall afoul of it. Despite immediately protesting their innocence, BMW will inevitably take a hit in terms of public opinion – although not as much as their guilty counterparts.

“The BMW group does not manipulate or rig any emissions tests. We observe the legal requirements in each country and adhere to all local testing requirements,” said a BMW spokesperson in a responsive statement to the allegations. Nevertheless, their stocks did fall by 10% immediately following Auto Bild’s report, coming in at a low of €72.05.

While Auto Bild and ICCT have stopped short of directly accusing BMW of cheating on their tests (the dishonesty displayed by VW is the chief reason why they have received so much flak from the media and investors), it’s still clear that BMW do have engines which produce incredibly dirty emissions. Until better regulation, monitoring and penalties are put in place (such as those measures discussed in this article) to combat such anti-environmental practices, diesel emissions will continue to be a serious problem.