Germany’s beleaguered car industry faces another regulatory tangle, as the EU opened a probe into Volkswagen AG, Daimler AG and BMW AG over suspected collusion that could have delayed clean-emissions technology for cars.
The investigation, which could lead to heavy fines, focuses on technical talks to develop selective catalytic reduction systems to reduce nitrogen-oxides emissions from diesel cars and “Otto” particulate filters for gasoline engines.
“These technologies aim at making passenger cars less damaging to the environment,” EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager said in an e-mailed statement. “If proven, this collusion may have denied consumers the opportunity to buy less-polluting cars, despite the technology being available to the manufacturers.”
Still, the EU said it had no indications the carmakers coordinated on illegal defeat devices to cheat regulatory testing — a wider scandal that has tarnished the reputation of VW globally.
The EU yesterday also said it did not have “sufficient indications” that talks on developing other technology — crash tests, car roof opening and cruise control speed — were anti-competitive.
Volkswagen has been cooperating with the European Commission and is to continue to do so, the company — whose namesake VW, as well as Audi and Porsche brands have been implicated in the cartel probe — said in an e-mailed statement.
“This initiation of proceedings is a normal, process-driven step that Volkswagen has been expecting,” it added.
Daimler also said that it is cooperating with authorities.
The Mercedes-Benz maker has filed a leniency application, it said, meaning it would act as a key witness in the probe in exchange for a reduction in potential fines.
The carmaker added that the EU investigation does not involve allegations on price fixing.
The EU investigation is a “new thing,” because it focuses on suspicions that the companies “agreed not to use the best technology” instead of looking at shady deals to fix prices, Vestager told a conference at the European Parliament in Brussels.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last