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Is Bosch behind diesel emissions manipulation?

The world pointed the gun at Volkswagen last year after its public exposure during dieselgate, but now more manufacturers are being looked at… and Bosch seems to be the common element. 

DIESEL WAS ONCE a darling fuel. But, as emissions regulations become more stringent it’s becoming harder to reduce diesel emissions, and particularly harmful NOx emissions, the fine particulates that settle in your lungs. And, so, as we saw with VW in California, there are those who’ll work to ‘beat the system’.

At the time of dieselgate, the world’s automakers were fast to distance themselves from VW and suggest none of their diesel vehicles contained ‘defeat devices’. But that doesn’t seem to be true.

Investigations in the US and in Germany have uncovered a number of car makers, including FCA brands in the US and Daimler in Germany, where prosecutors searched Daimler’s offices as part of their ongoing investigations “against known and unknown employees at Daimler who are suspected of fraud and misleading advertising connected with manipulated emissions treatment of diesel passenger cars,” a spokesperson for the public prosecutor’s office told Reuters.

The investigators are now looking into the involvement of Bosch as being a common denominator across a number of automotive brands. Bosch produces engine management software. “There is an investigation into aiding and abetting fraud,” the Stuttgart public prosecutor’s office said of Bosch. Apparently, the Bosch line of enquiry has grown out of prosecutors investigating Daimler. Both brands are based in Stuttgart.

Yesterday, a spokesperson for Bosch told reporters, “As a matter of policy, and due to the sensitive nature of these matters, Bosch will not comment further concerning matters under investigation and in litigation”.

The nail in the coffin? Bosch was ordered, in the US, to pay a settlement to owners of VWs in that country because of its involvement in the development of VW’s diesel engine defeat device. Seems that through no fault of its own, diesel is about to be killed off for good.


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Azmodan
Azmodan
6 years ago

Does this mean one day we’ll end the giant rort called the diesel fuel rebate. It’ll also be good to see and end to those disgusting SVU’s and trucks belching black smoke under acceleration.

Andrew Riles
Andrew Riles
6 years ago
Reply to  Azmodan

Diesel fumes are just one of many hydrocarbon emissions that are proven to be bad for the environmemt and/or humans…..why single them out??

Azmodan
Azmodan
6 years ago
Reply to  Andrew Riles

Becuase the problem with diesel is the particels in the soot are carcinogenic. They are just the right size to get lodged permanently in the lung. This is why countries like France will ban diesel cars in Paris form 2020 and said diesel has been a big mistake. This is health issue not a normal pollution issue, although that’s also important.

Andrew Riles
Andrew Riles
6 years ago
Reply to  Azmodan

Agreed….my take is that reducing pollutants from diesel fumes alone isn’t enough….there are other sources of carcinogenic emissions, and then there’s the CO2 emissions….an area petrols are worse than diesels….

Azmodan
Azmodan
6 years ago
Reply to  Andrew Riles

Diesel is almost dead. Multiuple manufacturers won’t be making diesels going forward. Petrol has caught up signifcantly in fuel economy, we now have hybrids, the diesels are that exciting to drive with their still low revving nature, and often I’ve found the supposed large torque down low didn’t translate to real world performance off the mark. I won’t miss it and the filt you see spewing out the back of so many diesel SUV’s and the carbon monoxide is sickening, literally. Large trucks and the like should he on cng or similar anyway.

Andrew Riles
Andrew Riles
6 years ago
Reply to  Azmodan

Don’t get me wrong, I agree with everything you say about diesel emissions, in my mind its fossil fuel energy as a whole that we need to change (and in fairness are changing), not just one or two sources of it….

Charita Ratnatunga
Charita Ratnatunga
6 years ago
Reply to  Azmodan

Trucks require larger engines to carry their load safely and transport essential goods. How do you expect this to be done if you remove them? It will be more disgusting when you have empty supermarket shelves!

Azmodan
Azmodan
6 years ago

You need to move into the 21st century. Diesel is toxic, just because diesel may go didn’t say trucks should go. Even for trucks the future is EV

Isaac Bober

Isaac Bober