South Korea prepares to impose a combined penalty of 70.3 billion won ($63.1 million) on units of BMW AG, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche mentioning violation of emission rules, the environment ministry stated on Thursday.
Seoul Main Customs, part of the nation’s customs firm, have also asked prosecutors to probe the three units for violation of customs law such including unlawful imports, the ministry added.
The BMW unit will be charged 60.8 billion won for “falsifying” documents on emission test outcomes and not acquiring approval for modifications in emission-control components before their vehicles were sold, the Ministry of Environment stated.
The Mercedes-Benz and Porsche units are going to be fined about 7.8 billion won and 1.7 billion won respectively for not getting approval for modifications in emission-control components before automobiles were sold.
Certificates of fuel efficiency are going to be canceled by mid-November and sales to be stopped for 28 BMW models, the ministry stated. This step will not affect vehicles that have already been sold, it added.
The BMW unit stated it is consistently working together with the government on their investigation into certificate paperwork errors, and will take necessary measures.
Some of the 200,000 cars that had been imported through customs between 2012-2017 had been declared for customs before approval was provided or modifications in components were reported, the Mercedez-Benz unit stated.
Internal procedures will be enforced to prevent such instances in future, it included.
A spokesperson for the Porsche unit stated the ministry’s step will not have any impact on their service, as the fine addresses component modifications between 2010 and 2015, and all cars and trucks being sold now are correctly certified.
