Frankfurt: The world’s biggest luxury carmaker Daimler reported strong financial results for the first half yesterday, but the performance was shaded by scandals around diesel emissions and a suspected cartel.
“The car industry is indeed making headlines at the moment, and not good ones,” chief executive Dieter Zetsche (pictured) said. Weekly Der Spiegel reported Friday that five German firms,, had been collaborating for decades on many aspects of car development, production, sales and logistics, disadvantaging customers and suppliers.
Most sensitive is the claim that manufacturers worked together on diesel exhaust filtration systems, a hot topic in Germany since Volkswagen admitted to cheating regulatory emissions tests on millions of cars in 2015.
The European Commission, has said it is looking into the allegations. The Daimler boss’ silence has been matched by the other carmakers who allegedly took part in the cartel. On the diesel question, the chief executive would only say that “it is worth it to fight for diesel”.The engines are prized by carmakers as a way of reaching carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions targets but produce harmful nitrogen oxides (NOx) in their exhaust.
Daimler was one of the worst performers on the DAX index of blue-chip German shares yesterday morning, losing 0.54 percent to reach $70.70 against a market up 0.36 percent around 1030 GMT.
