EU Fines 4 German Car Makers $1 Billion Over Emission Collusion

The European Union on Thursday fined four major German car manufacturers $1 billion in fines because they colluded to limit the development and rollout of car emission control systems.

The European Commission said Daimler, BMW, VW, Audi and Porsche avoided competing on technology to restrict pollution from gasoline and diesel passenger cars. Daimler wasn't fined after it revealed the cartel to the European Commission.

EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said that even though the companies had the technology to cut cut harmful emissions beyond legal limits, they avoided to compete and denied consumers the chance to buy less polluting cars.

(PTI)