BMW has informed its top managers that regulators penetrating reports of collusion amongst German automakers will find the claims hard to justify, 2 sources acquainted with the matter stated.
German magazine Der Spiegel reported previous month that BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Audi, and Volkswagen might have used market committee conferences to fix the size of tanks for AdBlue, a liquid utilized to deal with nitrogen oxide in diesel emissions.
The post was discussed at a closed-door “OFK” BMW leadership conference in Munich last week, 2 sources familiar with the conference informed Reuters.
OFK is an acronym to refer the company’s top leaders, said in German as “Obere Fuehrungskraefte.”
BMW’s top managers revealed surprise at the effect on share costs and the level of limelights received by the Spiegel’s post, the sources stated.
BMW’s top laywer stated regulators investigating the accusation that automakers had conspired to standardize the size of Adblue tanks would soon realize that the tank sizes differed, they said.
A survey of the most significant selling vehicles at Audi, BMW and Mercedes by Reuters reveals that the automobiles do not have identically sized AdBlue tanks.
The AdBlue tank in the BMW 3 series has a capability of 18.4 liters, where as the Audi A4’s has 12 liters. Mercedes C-Class models can be adjusted with tanks that are 25 liters or 8.5 liters in range. A series of tank sizes is also evident in larger and smaller cars offered by BMW, Audi and Mercedes.
“As a result, there was no doomsday mood,” a person knowledgeable about the discussions stated. BMW’s lawyer however cautioned that an ongoing investigation might throw up more facts, the individual said.
BMW stated it declined accusations that existing diesel vehicles do not provide sufficient exhaust gas treatment due to AdBlue tanks which are “too small”.
By integrating an AdBlue and an NOx-storage catalytic converter along with with exhaust-gas recirculation systems, BMW vehicles are able to meet all legal emissions requirements, the company stated.
