VW, Daimler and BMW used monkeys to test diesel exhaust gases

Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes’s parent company Daimler have come under fire over reports that they funded experiments on monkeys in order to prove that fumes from their diesel engines were not harmful.

According to the Financial Times, the study began in 2014 and involved “caged monkeys watching television cartoons for hours as they inhaled fumes from a Volkswagen Beetle.”

But the newspaper says the study was fixed. The Beetle was allegedly equipped with cheating software to reduce toxic emissions in the test. In real life, the car produces “40 times the permitted limit,” according to the paper.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The study, which was sponsored by the European Research Group on Environment and Health in the Transport Sector (EUGT) was highlighted by the Netflix documentary Dirty Monkey, says Auto Express. The group is funded entirely by the three car firms.

It’s believed that initials plans for the study involved “human participants on exercise bikes”, the magazine says, instead of “primates watching TVs.”

The tests were carried out by the US-based Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, the magazine adds, which received $730,000 (£520,000) worth of funding from the EUGT.

Volkswagen has since issued an apology on its Twitter feed. The company says it “explicitly distances itself from all forms of animal cruelty” and that “animal testing contradicts our own ethical standards.”

The firm says the EUGT’s methods were “wrong” and that the non-profit organisation has been “in liquidation” since June 30 of last year.

Business Insider says Volkswagen’s supervisory board will conduct an inquiry into the tests.