Squeaky clean? BMW denies rigging diesel tests amid Volkswagen emissions scandal

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BMW denied a magazine report saying some of its diesel cars were found to exceed emissions standards. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:15pm, 24 Sep 2015Updated: 12:55am, 25 Sep 2015

German top-of-the-range carmaker BMW on Thursday denied suggestions in a newspaper report that it might have cheated in pollution tests on its diesel cars, as rival group VW has admitted to doing.

“The BMW group does not manipulate or rig any emissions tests. We observe the legal requirements in each country and adhere to all local testing requirements,” it said in a statement after a report in the weekly Auto Bild claimed that emissions from one of its diesel cars exceeded European Union norms by 11 times.

The report had sent BMW’s shares into a tailspin on the Frankfurt stock exchange, as investors feared that other manufacturers were also involved in the massive pollution scam at Volkswagen.

According to Auto Bild, one of BMW’s diesel cars produced dangerous gases that exceed EU anti-pollution limits.

According to the US authorities, VW has admitted that it equipped about 482,000 cars in the United States with sophisticated software that covertly turns off pollution controls when the car is being driven. Photo: AFP

“Volkswagen is not the only carmaker whose cars produce high levels of nitrogen oxide,” said the magazine, accusing certain vehicles of the BMW group of the same.

It quoted road tests carried out by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) which found that BMW’s X3 xDrive equipped with 20d diesel motors produce gas emissions that are 11 times higher than European limits.