Mubasher: German regulators on Monday said that they fined auto giant BMW over diesel vehicles with higher harmful emissions than permitted, noting that the infraction was due to an error rather than deliberate fraud.

“Munich prosecutors have ordered a fine of EUR 8.5 million ($9.6 million) for the administrative offense of negligence in quality control,” investigators said in a statement.

Authorities have been investigating the German car manufacturer since early last year on the grounds of suspicions that it could have equipped some diesel cars with a so-called “defeat device.”

This device allows the vehicle to reduce emissions during test, whereas emitting higher levels of pollutants on the road.

“Mistaken labelling of the part of the motor control software responsible for exhaust treatment” was believed to be the reason for higher on-road emissions, prosecutors said, adding that “extensive investigations” found no evidence of deliberate fraud.

BMW “had not set up an appropriate quality control system” that could have prevented the error, they said.

It is worth noting that Volkswagen (VW) paid EUR 1 billion in fines over defeat devices after admitting in 2015 that it installed them in 11 million cars worldwide, while its luxury car brand Audi pair EUR 800 million.

Moreover, Stuttgart prosecutors said that they had sought a “fine proceeding” against Daimler over the same suspicions relating to 700,000 vehicles.

However, the number of affected vehicles in BMW’s case is compartively smaller.