Bosch Linked to Diesel-Cheating Claims Against Fourth Automaker

Robert Bosch, the world’s largest auto-parts supplier, was linked to emissions-cheating allegations against a fourth automaker, raising questions about the company’s role in the scandal gripping the car industry, according to Bloomberg.

Bosch and General Motors are co-defendants in a lawsuit filed by owners of diesel-powered pickups who accused the automaker of using software, known as a "defeat device," to pass U.S. emissions tests. Bosch "participated not just in the development of the device, but in the scheme to prevent U.S. regulators from uncovering the device’s true functionality," according to the lawsuit filed in Detroit federal court.

“We believe Bosch was the enabler," said attorney Steve Berman, a managing partner at Hagens Berman who’s represented vehicle owners in lawsuits against all four carmakers and Bosch over diesel cheating. “They provided the software in a format where manufacturers and Bosch could work together to calibrate their engines to cheat emissions tests.

The technology was so sophisticated that it could recognize when a car was being tested in a lab or smog station to feign clean emissions and compliance with pollution standards, according to U.S. regulators.

It’s the fourth time in less than two years that automakers using Bosch’s diesel engine software have been accused in court by regulators or vehicle owners of cheating on emissions tests. On Tuesday, the Justice Department accused Fiat Chrysler, which also use Bosch engine software, of rigging its cars to pass emissions tests.

GM spokesman Pat Morrissey said suit is "baseless“ and its vehicles comply with environmental standards. Fiat Chrysler said on Tuesday that it “intends to defend itself" in the Justice Department lawsuit and denied any willful wrongdoing.

Another Bosch user, Volkswagen, admitted in 2015 to flouting pollution rules and has committed to spending more than $24.5 billion paying fines and penalties, including buybacks, across North America. Car owners also alleged in a 2016 lawsuit that Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz used defeat devices. That lawsuit was thrown out but then amended and re-filed in December, adding Bosch as a defendant.

In each case, the vehicles used Bosch’s "EDC-17" control unit, a computer used to regulate the diesel engine’s operation and control emissions, according to the GM lawsuit. That chip is “a good enabler for manufacturers to employ defeat devices as it enables the software to detect conditions when emissions controls can be detected,“ according to the lawsuit.