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 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.
Even if there were no signs that BMW had also used sophisticated softwares as Volkswagen 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.