It is the German transport authority KBA that will now investigate BMW according to Reuters.
The investigation is based on suspicions that emissions were cheated on versions of the SUV X3 equipped with a 2.0 liter diesel engine.
The situation is reminiscent of the Dieselgate scandal that shook the world for Volkswagen almost 10 years ago.
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Hidden function lowers emissions
The KBA has told the German newspaper Picture that BMW may have equipped the cars with technology meant to cheat the emissions tests. How many cars may be covered by the alleged cheating is currently not known.
According to Bild, internal BMW documents suggest that the current versions of the BMW X3 can emit less nitrogen oxides if, for example, the air conditioning is turned off.
During emission tests in labs, the air conditioning is often turned off, and the fact that this lowers emissions on the cars in question is seen as a type of cheating.
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BMW has so far gotten away with it
– BMW were obviously very clever with their emissions trick, which is why it took so long to find something, says a source to Bild.
According to Bild, BMW has so far escaped larger fines for diesel cheating, and has only had to pay a fine of 8.5 million euros because a number of cars received incorrect software.
For reference, Volkswagen had to pay several billion euros for its diesel scandal.
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