The results of rigged animal tests that have plunged the German car industry into renewed turmoil were suppressed because they showed the opposite of what car-makers wanted, it has emerged.
Monkeys were forced to breathe diesel exhaust fumes from a VW Beetle for several hours in an attempt to prove they were not toxic in a study funded by Volkswagen, BMW and Daimler, the company that makes Mercedes.
But it has now emerged that the experiment found the exhaust was more harmful than fumes from a 20-year-old diesel car — despite the fact that the Beetle was fitted with software designed to lower emissions during tests.
The car-makers allegedly refused to pay for the tests, which were conducted in the US, after the results weren’t what they were expecting.
The details emerged as senior managers were suspended at BMW and Daimler in the wake of the scandal, in a sign the scandal is spreading beyond VW, the only company to admit responsibility so far.
The US study’s findings were never released. The results were made public for the first time on Tuesday in details leaked to Germany’s Bild newspaper.
Also published were emails from the scientists which clearly show they were concerned the car-makers would not be happy with the results.
“I’m a little uncomfortable sending it out without approval. The findings are obviously not what was expected and I’m not sure how they want to proceed,” an email from the research director, Jacob Mcdonald, reads.
An email from Jeremy Brower, another member of the team, reads: “Here is a draft of the report. Please review at least the conclusions before sending it out. I was trying to soften the blow of the results from the study without saying it was a bad study.”