Logo
BusinessBusiness

Volkwagen’s car-emissions scandal dragged down shares of rival German auto giant BMW on Thursday amid fears that cheating on pollution tests is more widespread.

Shares of BMW skidded as much as 10 percent after German weekly Auto Bild reported that road tests by the International Council on Clean Transportation showed one of its diesel cars exceeded European emissions limits by more than 11 times.

BMW said it was not familiar with the test and would ask the ICCT for clarification, but that it “does not manipulate or rig any emissions tests,” according to a statement to the AP.

After falling nearly 10 percent on the report, BMW shares were down around 8 percent in afternoon trading in Frankfurt.

Germany’s car industry has been rocked by revelations that VW installed software to fool emissions tests in 11 million of its diesel cars.

The scandal exploded on Friday when US officials publicly accused the company of cheating and launched a probe. The EPA investigation could lead to fines totaling more than $18 billion.

The US Department of Justice has also launched a criminal probe, as has New York Attorney General Eric Scheiderman with other states likely to follow suit.

VW’s supervisory board is expected to meet Friday to discuss a replacement for CEO Martin Winterkorn, who resigned Wednesday after the scandal sparked a 35 percent drop in VW’s share price. VW also makes Porsche, Audi and Bentley.

Porsche CEO Matthias Muller is set to become the new head of VW, WSJ.com reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

VW’s US chief, Michael Horn, is also expected to leave the company in the wake of the scandal, according to several reports.

Comments
anonymous profile image
Powered by RoundtableBuilt on infrastructure designed for real-time media. Learn more at RTB.io.© Roundtable 2026. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy