BMW denies cheating on diesel emissions

BMW AG yesterday rejected allegations of cheating on diesel emissions and downplaying talks with rivals as aimed at promoting exhaust-treatment technology in Europe.

With uncertainty plaguing the German auto industry, BMW said it had done much more than competitors to ensure its diesel cars met regulatory guidelines while still performing well on the road.

The company said it combined AdBlue fluid to neutralise pollutants as also a system that stored nitrogen-oxide emissions. It added, it saw no reason to recall or upgrade its latest diesel vehicles. The company is also offering a voluntary upgrade on older Euro 5 models.

''We compete to provide the best exhaust treatment systems,'' the Munich-based automaker said in statement last afternoon. ''Unlike other manufacturers, BMW Group diesel vehicles employ a combination of various components to treat exhaust emissions'' and thereby ''fulfill all legal emissions requirements and also achieve a very good real-life emissions performance.''

German automakers have come under intense scrutiny after a report in Der Spiegel magazine on Friday, alleged BMW, Daimler AG and Volkswagen AG, including its Audi and Porsche brands, might have colluded for decades on technology, including the size of AdBlue tanks.

According to a statement released Saturday, EU and German authorities were studying possible collusion among German automakers.

''It will be extremely complex and difficult to assess the financial damage that these collusions have triggered,'' Arndt Ellinghorst, a London-based analyst with Evercore ISI, said by e-mail. ''There is also a large gray area between legal and illegal collaboration.''

Further, Der Spiegel cited a letter it claimed  Volkswagen had written to German antitrust officials last summer in which it admitted to possible anti-competitive behavior.

The article alleged that hundreds of executives from Volkswagen (and its subsidiaries Audi and Porsche), Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler and BMW had participated in 60 secret industry working groups over decades as they sought to suspend competition in everything from vehicle development and engines, to suppliers and diesel emissions systems.