Car companies fined €875 million for collusion against NOx removing technologies

The European Commission has found that Daimler, BMW and the Volkswagen group (Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche) breached EU antitrust rules by colluding on technical development in the area of NOx cleaning. 

The Commission has imposed a fine of €875 million. Daimler was not fined, as it revealed the existence of the cartel to the Commission. All parties acknowledged their involvement in the cartel and agreed to settle the case.

Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “The five car manufacturers Daimler, BMW, Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche possessed the technology to reduce harmful emissions [but] they avoided competing on making use of this technology's full potential. Competition and innovation on managing car pollution are essential for Europe to meet our ambitious Green Deal objectives.” 

The car manufacturers held regular technical meetings to discuss the development of the selective catalytic reduction (SCR)-technology which eliminates harmful nitrogen oxide (NOx)-emissions from diesel passenger cars through the injection of urea (also called “AdBlue”) into the exhaust gas stream. For over five years (2009 - 2014), the car manufacturers colluded to avoid competition using this new technology.

This is the first cartel prohibition decision based solely on a restriction of technical development and not on price fixing, market sharing or customer allocation.

Whistleblower tool

The Commission has set up a tool to make it easier for individuals to alert it about anti-competitive conduct while maintaining their anonymity. The tool protects whistleblowers' anonymity through a specifically designed encrypted messaging system that allows two-way communications. The tool is accessible via this link.

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