The new law seeks to tackle the gap between levels of nitrogen oxides, particularly associated with diesel cars, recorded in tests and in the real world. The model is manufactured exclusively in Spartanburg County. A new testing regime with “normal driving conditions” is being developed and a system for measuring actual emissions on the road is to be introduced. It markets its cars on a promise of clean performance, but tells the Commission its engines take years to design and new pollution standards should not be rushed. Current methodology leaves open the possibility “for “cycle beating” during the type-approval test”, he said at the time.
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“When it comes to our vehicles, there is no difference in the treatment of exhaust emissions whether they are on rollers (eg. test bench situation) or on the road”.
The company is also emphatic that it has “clear, binding specifications and processes … in place through all phases of development at the BMW Group in order to avoid wrongdoing”.
BMW denied the report in a statement saying while it was not aware of the ICCT’s specific tests, it did not manipulate or rig any emissions tests.
Last Friday, the German auto manufacturer was forced by the American Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to recall nearly 500,000 vehicles, after it emerged that illegal software in the cars was cheating emissions tests – meaning that the cars were actually dirtier than they “pretended” to be during the test.
The European Union now allows manufacturers to optimize results with tactics such as stripping the vehicle of excess weight or removing the air conditioner, according to Tuev Sued, a German company that performs tests for carmakers. BMW said it was reaching out to the council to learn more about the tests carried out.
The Commission has reports going back years that led to its decision in 2010 to supplement laboratory testing of cars with tests to reflect real-driving emissions. Volkswagen A.G. said it will voluntarily submit a complaint to German officials to launch a criminal investigation.
Announcing Mr Winterkorn’s resignation, VW’s board said there would be further “personnel consequences”.
A rapid reaction email from analyst Arndt Ellinghorst at Evercore ISI explains why the impact on BMW might now be as severe as the one seen by VW where shares fell by 35% in two days. Europe accounted for 80% of those sales, while the United States was just 6%.
But it isn’t known how numerous 11 million affected VW cars and trucks were in Europe, he said, adding that other automakers’ vehicles would be checked as well.
Volkswagen brand chief Herbert Diess says “we are working at full speed on a technical solution that we will present to partners, to our customers and to the public as swiftly as possible”.
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Shares of miner and commodities trader Glencore PLC (GLEN.LN) tumbled 9.6%, leading losses on the Stoxx 600.
