By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Volkswagen (DE:VOWG) and BMW (DE:BMWG_p) stock were trading lower in European markets as the European Union imposed a fine of $1.03 billion on the two German carmakers for restricting competition in emission cleaning for new diesel passenger vehicles.
Volkswagen preferred stock was down 2.6% on Deutsche Börse’s Xetra and BMW preferred stock fell 1.3%.
The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, said the carmakers colluded on the technical development in the area of nitrogen oxide cleaning, breaching EU antitrust rules.
Daimler (DE:DAIGn) escaped the fine as it revealed the existence of the cartel.
"The five car manufacturers Daimler, BMW, Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche possessed the technology to reduce harmful emissions beyond what was legally required under EU emission standards. But they avoided to compete on using this technology's full potential to clean better than what is required by law," the EU’s antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.
Volkswagen owns Audi and Porsche. All car makers acknowledged their involvement in the cartel and agreed to settle the case.