By Natalia Drozdiak 
 

BRUSSELS--European Union competition authorities have raided the offices of BMW AG (BMW.XE) over concerns that several German car makers violated the bloc's cartel rules.

The EU on Friday said that it had carried out an unannounced inspection at a German car manufacturer in recent days along with counterparts from the German cartel office.

BMW was the target of the inspection, according to a person familiar with the matter.

In late July, the luxury-car maker denied that it had cooperated with rivals to manipulate diesel engines for reducing nitrogen-oxide emissions.

The denial followed reports, confirmed by the European Commission, that Volkswagen AG asked the region's antitrust watchdogs to scrutinize decades of possible coordination efforts by the country's main auto manufacturers.

EU rules prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices. Inspections are preliminary steps in competition probes.

Write to Natalia Drozdiak at natalia.drozdiak@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 20, 2017 09:40 ET (13:40 GMT)