Dirty Money, a new Netflix documentary series, has revealed that German car manufacturers: Volkswagen, Mercedes and BMW, financed testing on monkeys to prove that new diesels are better for your health than older ones. According to the programme, VW subsequently fixed the test results using an emissions cheat device.
The study, which is reported to have ended in June 2017, involved pumping exhaust gases from a 2013 VW Beetle TDI and a 2004 Ford F250 pick-up, into air tight enclosures for hours at a time while the test subjects watched cartoons. Original designs for the study were said to have involved human participants on exercise bikes, rather than primates watching TVs.
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The Netflix documentary went on to reveal, that after Volkswagen supplied the diesel Beetle for use in the study, it demanded real time access to the results. This is believed to have been to ensure that the emissions cheat device installed in the car was operating correctly, therefore skewing the findings to the advantage of VW. The findings from the study have yet to be published.
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The experiment itself was conducted by the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, based in the USA. However, the $730,000 (£516,000) worth of funding required came indirectly from VW, BMW and Mercedes via a not-for-profit organisation the three manufacturers set up called the EUGT.
Since the documentary went live, all three manufacturers have made statements condemning the study, with VW tweeting, "Volkswagen Group explicitly distances itself from all forms of animal cruelty. Animal testing contradicts our own ethical standards. The EUGT has been in liquidation since June 30, 2017."
Want to know more about the diesel emissions scandal? Read our summary page here.
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