FRANKFURT -- Robert Bosch said it took "very seriously" allegations of diesel software manipulation in Ford pickups, responding to a lawsuit brought by U.S. law firm Hagens Berman.
Hagens Berman accused Ford Motor of rigging its F-250 and F-350 diesel pickups with emissions-cheating devices to ensure they passed tests, in the lawsuit filed on Wednesday. The lawsuit also names Bosch as a defendant.
"Bosch takes the allegations of manipulation of the diesel software very seriously. It is a well-known fact that these allegations remain the subject of investigations and civil litigation involving Bosch," the German supplier said in a statement on Wednesday.
"Bosch is cooperating with the continuing investigations in various jurisdictions, and is defending its interests in the litigation," Bosch said, declining to comment further.
Ford worked with Bosch to mask the vehicles’ inefficiencies in order to maintain overall performance, according to the complaint filed on Wednesday in Detroit federal court. Bosch is named as a defendant in the proposed class action.
Bosch faces similar accusations in cases against VW, Fiat Chrysler and General Motors. The Stuttgart-based supplier has denied any wrongdoing in those suits.
Bosch is under investigation in the U.S. and Germany over whether its employees helped VW cheat on emissions tests. Last year, Bosch agreed to pay $327.5 million to U.S. owners of Volkswagen vehicles for its part in installing illegal emissions-cheating software.
Ford said all of its vehicles comply with all U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board emissions regulations. "Ford vehicles do not have defeat devices," the company said in a statement. "We will defend ourselves against these baseless claims."
Bloomberg contributed to this report
