S.Korea fines 3 German automakers for cheating emissions

SEOUL South Korea's antitrust regulators said on Thursday it would impose a combined fine of 42.3 billion won $33.48 million on three German automakers for colluding to rig emissions of its diesel cars using software.

Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen and Audi were involved in collusion that reduced competition and restricted consumer choice, the Korea Fair Trade Commission KFTC said in a statement.

The regulators said Mercedes-Benz was fined 20.7 billion won, BMW 15.7 billion won and Audi 6 billion won, and Volkswagen was not fined because it did not earn revenue relevant to the issue.

Mercedes, BMW, Volkswagen and Audi were not immediately available for comment.

A year ago, Mercedes-Benz and its Korean unit were fined 20.2 billion won for false advertising related to gas emissions of diesel passenger vehicles.

In 2021, the European Commission fined Volkswagen and BMW a total of 875 million euros for colluding to curb the use of emissions cleaning technology they had developed.