Top German automakers sued in the US

The suit says the firms agreed to limit the development of vehicle tech, including emissions control

German’s major automakers were accused in a US lawsuit of acting as a cartel, colluding for nearly two decades to limit the pace of technological advances in their vehicles and stifle competition — allegations that widen the scope of the latest scandal to hit the nation’s auto industry.

BMW AG, Daimler AG, Volkswagen AG and its Audi and Porsche brands shared competitive information about vehicle technologies with one another from 1996 through at least 2015 in violation of antitrust laws, according to a complaint filed Friday in San Francisco federal court.

“These coordinated actions enabled the manufacturer defendants — the self-named ‘Fünfer-Kreise,’ or Circle of Five — to impose a German automobile premium on consumers premised on superior German engineering, while secretly stunting incentives to innovate,” the suit alleges.

The suit, which seeks class-action status on behalf of US drivers, says the companies agreed to limit the development of vehicle systems, including emissions control. The arrangement allegedly led to the development of so-called “defeat devices” used by Volkswagen to cheat on pollution tests.

Plaintiffs claim the operation of convertible roofs, body design, brakes and electronic systems were also part of the “technological innovations inhibited” by the pacts.

The supplier of Volkswagen’s cheat software, Robert Bosch Gmbh, was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

“In secret, closed meetings, the manufacturer defendants identified certain key suppliers—such as Robert Bosch GmbH—that would supply the Five with a specific product,” according to the suit.