German Authorities Test BMW, Mercedes, VW Cars for NOx Emissions

German regulators are currently talking with certain automakers after finding “partly elevated levels of nitrogen oxides” among some diesel cars it has tested, reports Automotive News. The KBA, Germany’s transport authority, is gathering raw data from more than 50 cars among 23 auto brands to check for defeat devices.

It’s still unclear which cars from which automakers were shown to have high emissions. But we do know the KBA is including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Peugeot, as well as Audi, VW, Porsche, and other brands in the far-reaching probe. To assess emissions, the KBA is testing cars on test beds as well as on actual roads. The German probe comes just as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued its own set of more stringent diesel tests to better reflect real-world driving scenarios.

The KBA says it will evaluate the data further, and only then will it have complete results for any legal action. The agency is about two-thirds of the way through its testing.

BMW has adamantly denied using cheat devices, and says it hasn’t been approached by the KBA to talk about diesel probe findings. Mercedes-Benz told reporters it welcomes the tests, and has also denied using cheat devices.

In the meantime, VW remains embroiled in a scandal that seems to grow by the day. The automaker admitted that certain diesel models show a noticeable deviation between emissions results during tests and real-world driving situations. Later, the EPA alleged that cars with 3.0-liter V-6 TDI engines also have cheat software, although the automaker has denied this claim. In addition to the NOx emissions scandal, VW has also found a carbon dioxide emissions problem on as many as 800,000 of its vehicles.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

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