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| Some BMW diesel cars exceed EU pollution limits by 11 times |
-Reports weighs on German car stocks; Daimler, VW decline
Shares in the top-of-the-range carmaker BMW fell nearly 10 percent on the Frankfurt stock exchange on Thursday on a newspaper report that one of its diesel models exceeded EU emission norms.
As the auto sector continued to reel from revelations that German giant Volkswagen was involved in a massive pollution cheating scandal, BMW shares tumbled 9.7 percent to an intraday low of 72.05 euros ($81) in late morning trade on a report in the weekly Auto Bild that emissions from one of its diesel models were 11 times higher than EU norms.
"Volkswagen is not the only carmaker whose cars produce high levels of nitrogen oxide," said German weekly Auto Bild magazine, accusing certain vehicles in the BMW group of the same.
It quoted road tests carried out by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) which found that BMW's X3 xDrive equipped with 20d diesel motors produce gas emissions that are 11 times higher than European limits.
"All these data show that the problem is not specific to VW," Peter Mock from ICCT was quoted as saying.
The ICCT had been at the origin of the stunning revelations of cheating by Volkswagen, which went public last Friday when the United States announced a probe.
Even if there were no signs that BMW had also used sophisticated software to fool pollution tests, the news further destabilised the vital German industry, already shaken by the VW bombshell.
By contrast, VW shares shot up 7.9 percent to hit an intraday high of 120.30 euros, as investors went bargain hunting following the meltdown in the share price earlier this week as the extent of the scandal became apparent.
A two-day rout on Monday and Tuesday had axed 35 percent -- or 25 billion euros ($28 billion) -- off the company's market value.