Automakers Brace for Greater Scrutiny after Emissions Scandals

Carmakers have to be clearer about the way they certify their fuel-economy and emission ratings as regulators ramp up scrutiny over the gap between laboratory results and on-road conditions, according to Daimler AG Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche.

“You can only be transparent and if there’s any shortfalls anywhere, fix them and move forward,” Zetsche told Bloomberg News ahead of the Beijing auto show opening this week. “And then of course it will take some time” for the industry to be where they were before the Frankfurt motor show last year.

Revelations that Volkswagen AG (IW 1000/7) cheated on diesel emissions emerged days after the Frankfurt exhibition last September. Since then, government fraud investigators have raided French manufacturer PSA Group as part of broader checks into vehicle emissions. In Japan, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said last week it manipulated fuel-economy tests to mislead consumers.

Investigating Certification Process

Also last week, Daimler (IW 1000/15) said it had been asked by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the certification process of its cars. The internal probe follows U.S. class action suits that allege some of its cars violated emissions standards. Daimler has said it’s cooperating fully with authorities and that the suits are “baseless.”

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