Can you make up for it?
Editor’s note: This article is from “Future Car Daily” (WeChat public ID: auto-time), author: Pan Lei.
Author | Pan Lei
Edit | Liang Chen
September 25, according to Reuters, Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler sold more than 680,000 vehicles with excessive emissions on the market for violating diesel vehicle emission regulations, and will be charged 870 million euros by the German prosecution ( A fine of approximately 6.78 billion yuan.
This is another hit by German automakers since Volkswagen’s “emissions gate” broke out in 2015 and has been fined almost 30 billion euros.
Break the German car company
Mercedes was fined this time, dating back to the beginning of 2016, when the US Environmental Protection Agency asked Mercedes to explain the emission levels of its fuel vehicles.
In May 2017, the German prosecutor searched Daimler’s office for suspected fraud in Daimler’s emissions. In July 2018, the German Federal Ministry of Transportation believed that Daimler’s diesel vehicles suspected of smashing emissions had reached 774,000 in Europe and required the latter to recall 238,000 diesel vehicles in Germany. At that time, Daimler agreed to upgrade the software for millions of cars in an effort to avoid huge fines.
In June 2019, the German Ministry of Transport again ordered Daimler to recall 60,000 Mercedes-Benz diesel vehicles.
This time Daimler was fined 870 million euros, the latest penalty for the German side in terms of exhaust emissions fraud.
But this is not the end. There are indications that although the time has passed four years, the long-term trend of the “emission gate” is very obvious. This is the German car company that is transforming into new energy and autonomous driving. Said, it was a bad news.
Because this is only the action of the German prosecutors, at the EU level, investigations into the monopoly of environmentally-friendly emission technologies, including the abuse of dominant positions by some car companies including Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi, have already begun. This is also the cause of the “discharge gate”.
After paying the fine to temporarily end the lawsuit concerning the “emission door”, Daimler has to worry about another lawsuit that is targeted by the higher-level European Commission – the lawsuit is also the same. There may be a huge fine.
As early as mid-2017, the European Commission issued a statement saying that it received a secret report on the alleged monopoly of parts and related technologies for several car companies including Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW. The anti-monopoly agency began. Start the investigation.
According to the report of Der Spiegel at the time, as early as the 1990s, the German car companies held several secret meetings to reach agreement on issues such as technology, cost and suppliers, including the subsequent triggers. Diesel vehicle exhaust gas treatment system.
In mid-September 2018, the European Commission officially launched an investigation to confirm whether BMW, Volkswagen and Daimler are colluding in the prevention of the development and promotion of clean emissions technologies.
On April 5, 2019, Reuters reported that the European Commission’s investigation confirmed the illegal monopoly of clean emission technologies by the above-mentioned car companies, but did not determine the amount of fines.
According to the convention, the EU’s penalties for monopolistic conduct are 10% of annual turnover. But the first “confessor” may not be punished, and the second willing to actively “cooperate” may also reduce the fine. Because Daimler and the public have cooperated with relevant investigations, they may be exempted from punishment or mitigated punishment. However, BMW has always denied allegations of monopoly and is expected to be fined. To this end, BMW has provisioned up to 1.4 billion euros in the first quarter to deal with antitrust lawsuits.
For Daimler and Volkswagen, the EU did not officially stipulate the exemption from fines for the “monopoly door” incident, so this is still the sword of Damocles that can fall at any time.
But over the past year or so, Daimler has issued four profit warnings in a row, and is almost unable to afford new fines. Although Volkswagen’s overall profitability is good, its Audi has lost its CEO, Steader, who has been in power for 11 years because of the “emission door” incident.
From the current situation, the “emission door” event will not disappear in the short term, and its impact on German car companies will continue to exist for some time to come. Potential fines also bring high financials. The cost, which makes the German car companies become extremely difficult during the “transition” barrier period.
Missing the autopilot vent
It is not difficult to find through the anti-monopoly investigation of the European Commission that in the long-term development process of German automakers, in order to cope with increasingly strict environmental emission standards, the space for mechanical innovation of traditional automobiles is getting smaller and smaller. In order to ensure that their superiority in technology and the market began to take risks – to eliminate aliens through monopoly and hinder innovation.
This is inseparable from the development advantages that German car companies have accumulated in the long run. And when this advantage is gradually narrowed, it is not willing to face up to the new trend in the automotive industry, but hopes to continue to enjoy the privileged position through the “outside move”.
The result of the deterioration of this phenomenon is divided into two parts. One is the scandal that caused the “discharge gate”, which shocked the automobile industry and was punished.A total of tens of billions of euros in fines and indemnities. Second, it missed the opportunity of this wave of technological revolution in the automotive industry.
At present, it is the gateway period of the new energy automobile revolution. The United States has become the most advanced country in terms of autonomous driving and AI; China has become the world’s largest new energy vehicle market, and is second only to autonomous driving technology. United States. Only European car companies have fallen behind in this storm.
The combination of the two results is that they have missed the enthusiasm, and at the same time, because of the huge fines, the “money and grain” is in short supply.
The following phenomena are not difficult to explain. The German car company is rushing around the world to find battery suppliers and autonomous driving technology partners. The valuations of autopilot companies like Ford Argo AI, Silicon Valley Aurora, and Google Waymo have taken the lead, but the German system The car company had to pay the bill.
A typical case is that when Volkswagen and Ford negotiated a joint investment in Argo AI, the valuation of Argo AI rose from $4 billion to more than $7 billion in just five months.
When Waymo was established in the short span of ten years, its valuation soared to $175 billion (2018, Morgan Stanley), almost twice the market value of Tesla and General Motors.
The most difficult thing for German car companies is that they can master the core technology through cooperation.
It is well known that core technology has never been bought. Recognizing the German car companies after this point, they are now also starting to act, such as BMW began to develop its own battery technology.
Reinforce the dead, can you get it?
How big is the impact of the discharge door? Check out the facts below.
In March 2016, BMW, which just celebrated its 100th anniversary, released a new “first strategy”. At that time, CEO Kruger said that he would reshape the automotive industry and “digitalize” the six strategies announced. “The aspect, electric cars and autonomous driving are highlighted.
In June 2016, the Volkswagen Group released the “2025 Strategy”, which is known as the biggest change in the history of the Volkswagen Group. Needless to say, it is also a self-revolution, with a focus on the development of electric vehicles.
At the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2016, Daimler’s head, Cai Che, officially released the strategy of “CASE” and released the electric vehicle brand EQ, which is to be connected to the intelligent network. Complete transformation in autopilot, shared travel and electric drive.
These facts all happened in 2016, the second year of the “emissions gate” scandal.
The release of those strategies, as well as Daimler’s quick pledge of 870 million euros, also stated that it did not appeal, to a certain extent, indicating that German car companies should choose to “bone the bones”. Because there is not much time to continue to entangle in the complicated legal affairs, thus affecting the transformation of the cause.
While does not recognize its monopoly, BMW has also provided 1.4 billion euros for the upcoming fine. As for Volkswagen or Audi, after paying a terrible price of nearly 30 billion euros and putting CEO Steader into it, it should be understood that there is no other way than transformation.
This is the reinstatement. The difference is that compared with other car companies, the phantom of the “emission door” and the threat of high price fines are always lingering, which is tantamount to the transformation of the German car companies.
[I am Pan Lei, the author of the Future Auto Daily, focusing on the automotive industry and autonomous technologies such as autonomous driving and AI. I welcome the exchange and provide news clues. WeChat A10010A123, please add a note name, company, position. 】
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