Your favourite German car manufacturers have been up to some naughty naughty things
BMW, Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche have been hit with a massive $1.3 billion fine because they colluded on emission control technology.
What's emission control technology you ask? It's technology used in cars to reduce pollution from gas and diesel cars.
These companies had the technology to cut harmful emissions from their vehicles, but decided they would rather not compete on it. And this ain't Volkswagen's first rodeo.
Daimler, which operates Mercedes Benz, was also part of the clan, but didn’t receive a fine because it snitched on the others!
Collusion is when companies work together to influence a market, or pricing, for their own advantage. Collusion restricts competition, can force prices up and reduce choices for consumers.
This is even more serious when the EU is trying desperately to meet its 2019 Green Deal objective (ie no net emissions by 2050).
The EU wants car manufacturers to compete with one another so that the quality of emissions technology will improve. Clearly, the big 5 had other ideas.
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