Transport ministry to look into NGO accusations that BMW cheated on emissions

German authorities will look into accusations by Environmental Action Germany (DUH) that carmaker BMW had used an illegal ‘defeat device’ to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in one of its diesel models. “The Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) was instructed by the transport ministry’s fact-finding committee to look into these accusations immediately after their publication,” the transport ministry told the Clean Energy Wire. According to DUH, the exhaust cleaning mechanism of the car at issue is throttled as soon as the engine exceeds 2,000 revolutions per minute, and is completely switched off beyond 3,500 rpm. DUH said this was illegal because it interfered with normal driving conditions, report Henrik Mortsiefer and Jens Tartler in the Tagesspiegel.

Read the Tagesspiegel article in German here.

See CLEW’s dieselgate timeline and the factsheet Early e-car starter BMW plans new mobility sprint  for background.