Car industry supplier Bosch fined for involvement in "dieselgate"

German auto parts supplier Bosch was ordered to pay a 90 million euro fine on 23 May for its role in "negligently infringing its quality control obligations," according to investigators in Stuttgart, reports Deutsche Welle. Bosch has become the latest household name that has been implicated in the “dieselgate” scandal. Investigators found that since 2008, Bosch has delivered 17 million motor control and mixture control devices to domestic and foreign manufacturers, some of whose software contained illegal strategies. "Cars fitted with the devices emitted more nitrogen oxides than allowed under regulations," investigators said.

As more and more countries around the world announce concrete goals to phase out internal combustion engines in passenger cars, the automobile's birthplace, Germany, is embroiled in a scandal over exhaust emissions manipulation in diesel cars. When "dieselgate" broke in September 2015, it appeared to concern only the country's largest car company, Volkswagen. Since then, almost all major German carmakers have become implicated. In April 2019, the European Commission officially accused carmakers VW, BMW and Daimler of illegal collusion to avoid competition on emissions reduction technology.