German car makers face heat over tests on monkeys, humans

Public criticism of the German auto industry escalates, with reports that diesel exhaust tests were carried out on both monkeys and humans.

The tests were reportedly carried out by a research group funded by major German auto companies.

The German government condemns the experiments and Volkswagen seeks to distance itself from them, with its chairman saying that “in the name of the whole board, I emphatically disavow such practices.”

Revelations of the tests add a twist to the German auto industry’s attempt to move past Volkswagen’s scandal over cheating on diesel tests and the resulting questioning of diesel technology across the industry.

Volkswagen Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch says the tests must be “investigated completely and without reservation,” the dpa news agency reports.

A report by the New York Times finds that the research group, financed by top German car manufacturers, commissioned experiments in which one group of monkeys was exposed to diesel exhaust from a late-model Volkswagen, while another group was exposed to fumes from an older Ford pickup.

— AP