Washington/San Francisco — Robert Bosch, the world’s largest vehicle-parts supplier, was linked to emissions-cheating allegations against a fourth vehicle maker on Thursday, raising questions about the German company’s role in the scandal gripping the car industry.
Bosch and General Motors (GM) are co-defendants in a lawsuit filed on Thursday by owners of diesel-powered pick-ups who accused the vehicle maker of using illegal software, known as a defeat device, to pass US emissions tests.
Bosch "participated not just in the development of the defeat device, but in the scheme to prevent US regulators from uncovering the device’s true functionality", according to the lawsuit filed in Detroit federal court.
"We believe Bosch was the enabler," said attorney Steve Berman, a managing partner at Hagens Berman, who has represented vehicle owners in lawsuits against all four car makers and Bosch over diesel cheating. "They provided the software in a format where manufacturers and Bosch could work together to calibrate their engines to cheat emissions tests."
The technology was so sophisticated that it could recognise when a car was being tested in a lab or smog station to feign clean emissions and compliance with pollution standards, according to US regulators.
"Bosch takes the allegations of manipulation of the diesel software very seriously," the Stuttgart-based parts supplier said in an e-mailed statement. "Bosch is co-operating with the continuing investigations in various jurisdictions, and is defending its interests in the litigation."
This is the fourth time in less than two years that vehicle makers using Bosch’s diesel engine software have been accused in court by regulators or vehicle owners of cheating on emissions tests. On Tuesday, the US justice department accused Fiat Chrysler — which also uses Bosch engine software — of rigging its cars to pass emissions tests.
GM spokesperson Pat Morrissey said that the lawsuit announced on Thursday was "baseless" and its vehicles complied with environmental standards. Fiat Chrysler said on Tuesday that it "intends to defend itself" in the justice department lawsuit and denied any wilful wrongdoing.
In 2015, another Bosch user, Volkswagen, admitted to flouting pollution rules, and has committed to spending more than $24.5bn paying fines and penalties, including buybacks, across North America. Car owners also alleged in a 2016 lawsuit that Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz used defeat devices. That lawsuit was thrown out but then amended and re-filed in December, adding Bosch as a defendant.
Mercedes-Benz has denied any wrongdoing, but earlier in 2016 suspended seeking certification for 2017 diesel vehicles, citing the "significant increase in effort" needed to win approval from the US Environmental Protection Agency.
In each case, the vehicles used Bosch’s EDC-17 control unit, a computer used to regulate the diesel engine’s operation and control emissions, according to the GM lawsuit. That chip is "a good enabler for manufacturers to employ defeat devices as it enables the software to detect conditions when emissions controls can be detected", according to the lawsuit.
"Although this case is not about VW, Bosch’s history with VW provides background and support for its participation" in the racketeering "of which Bosch and GM were participants", the GM truck owners claimed.
In the VW case, vehicle owners accused Bosch of being "an active participant in a massive, decade-long conspiracy with VW", according to court filings. Bosch did not admit wrongdoing but agreed to pay $327.5m to end the class-action in February.
"After diligently balancing all aspects, we decided to settle in this case," Bosch CEO Volkmar Denner said at the time in a statement. "Bosch is in the middle of the biggest transformation of the company’s history. We want to devote all our attention and resources to that change."
Bosch faces an investigation by the US justice department into possible criminal charges, people familiar with the matter said in September. German prosecutors are looking into whether Bosch employees helped VW rig software. Stuttgart prosecutors said on Friday that they were also investigating Bosch in relation to a probe of Daimler, which was the subject of police raids across Germany earlier this week, and a spokesperson at the supplier said the company was co-operating.
In the Fiat Chrysler lawsuit, now before a San Francisco federal court, Bosch and the car maker are alleged to have installed software to manipulate the emissions control systems when the car was in testing.
"Rather than finding a way to improve performance while maintaining the emissions control system," the companies conspired to hide the actual level of pollutants, according to one of the 20 pending complaints against Fiat Chrysler, many of which also name Bosch as a defendant.
Fiat Chrysler has proposed a software update to the EPA, which lawyers say is capable of resolving the dispute "in a matter of weeks". It would minimise or eliminate any need for payment of monetary damages to plaintiffs, the company said. Bosch has yet to issue a written reply to the claims, but supported the car maker’s efforts to produce a fix.
Bloomberg
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