German car manufacturing giants Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW illegally colluded to hinder competition on emission cleaning technology, the European Commission said on Friday.

The initial findings from an investigation by the EU's antitrust regulators came nearly two years after authorities carried out raids on their headquarters.

What the Commission found:

From 2006 to 2014, the three German automakers conspired to limit the development and rollout of emission cleaning technology for passenger cars sold in Europe.

The talks were aimed at restricting competition and "breached EU antitrust rules."

Two types of technology, specifically, were restricted: one to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from diesel cars and another to reduce harmful particulate matter from petrol engine cars.

The companies "denied consumers the opportunity to buy less polluting cars" despite the technology being available.

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Colluding 'not to improve their products'

EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who is in charge of competition policy, said EU antitrust authorities were concerned that VW, BMW and Daimler deliberately restricted their customer's access to the best technology.

"Companies can cooperate in many ways to improve the quality of their products. However, EU competition rules do not allow them to collude on exactly the opposite: not to improve their products, not to compete on quality," Vestager said in a statement.

BMW said it would set aside more than €1 billion ($1.13 billion). The German automaker said it has deduced that "the European Commission is most likely to issue a fine of a significant amount."

VW said it would review the allegations, but noted that "cooperation between manufacturers on technical issues in the automotive sector is common around the world."

Meanwhile, Daimler said it "has cooperated at an early stage and comprehensively with the European Commission as chief witness and does for that reason not expect a fine in this matter."

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German car giants in hot water: Friday's preliminary findings were the latest emissions scandal to hit the German auto industry. VW, in particular, has been hit hard by the 2015 "Dieselgate" emissions cheating scandal, where the company admitted to fitting 11 million vehicles around the world with a device to cheat air pollution tests. BMW, Daimler and VW were also heavily criticized in 2018 for paying for animal tests that exposed monkeys to toxic diesel fumes.

What happens next: The Commission said it has notified the companies of its initial findings and sent a "statement of objections." The German automakers will now have a chance to respond. Antitrust regulators emphasized that the investigation is not yet over. Should VW, BMW and Daimler be found guilty of violating antitrust rules, however, the Commission can impose a fine of up to 10 percent of each company's annual worldwide turnover.

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Stuttgart drops diesel while German cities dally Car city Stuttgart - home to powerful auto makers Porsche and Daimler From April 1 it will be illegal to drive diesel vehicles made before the Euro 5 standard was developed in 2009 in Stuttgart. This after an environmental group went to court to force the city into action. But 'yellow vest' styled protests have pushed back with class and economic arguments for three months. The city will decide whether to ban Euro 5 diesels after emissions tests in mid-2019.

Stuttgart drops diesel while German cities dally Hamburg - out in front Hamburg became the first German city to introduce partial bans in June 2018, with two-thirds of its 300,000 diesels forced off two of its main roads. The city is one of about 80 in Germany where nitrogen oxide levels often surpass the European threshold of 40 micrograms per cubic meter. In February 2018 the top federal court cleared the way for state courts to impose bans to improve air quality.

Stuttgart drops diesel while German cities dally Munich - Germany resists Munich has relatively low pollution levels but lost in court to German environmentalists in 2017. It refused to implement the bans. After Dieselgate, the EU acted on Germany's lax controls, but much of the country is still resistant. Last year Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed the EU to allow a buffer of 10 micrograms in cities and promised to introduce laws protecting older diesel owners.

Stuttgart drops diesel while German cities dally Cologne, Düsseldorf and Bonn - dodging diesel With the dirtiest air in the densely populated state of NRW, Cologne was served with a court order last year but has appealed. The city has found ways to clean up its atmosphere through low emission buses, truck detours, traffic lights and cycling infrastructure. Nearby Düsseldorf has introduced 60 such measures to avoid the bans, while Bonn has appealed an order due to take effect in April

Stuttgart drops diesel while German cities dally Berlin gets buses Berlin has until July to implement a clean air plan but drafts so far say 11 major streets will be closed to diesels up to Euro 5 standard. More than 100 roads will be limited to 30 km/h (18 mph). The city will also bring on 200 new double decker buses ―powered by diesel ― part of a broader investment in new public transport to battle air pollution.



ls,rs/jil (dpa, AFP, Reuters)

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