Mercedes, Audi, BMW fined worth $33.48 million for rigging emissions of diesel cars

South Korea has fined German automakers Mercedes, Audi and BMW for using their software to rig emissions released from their diesel cars 

The anti-trust regulator in South Korea announced on Thursday, February 9, that a combined fine of 42.3 billion won (E31.18million) will be imposed by them on three German automotive companies for “colluding to rig emissions of its diesel cars using software”:  

A statement released by the Korea Fair Trade Commission said,  “Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, and Audi were involved in collusion that reduced competition and restricted consumer choice”, as cited by Reuters.  

The regulator also said, “Mercedes-Benz was fined 20.7 billion won, BMW 15.7 billion won and Audi 6 billion won”.  

The commission decided not to fine Volkswagen, as it says the company did not “earn revenue relevant to the issue”.  

In 2022, following a false advertisement related to gas emission norms on diesel cars made by Mercedez-Benz in South Korea, a fine was imposed for 20.2 billion won on the company and its local unit in the country.  

The European Union had also fined BMW and Volkswagen for an amount of €875 million and said the companies were “colluding to curb the use of emissions cleaning technology they had developed”.

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