The producer of the French electric car-sharing scheme, Autolib’, has filed a complaint for industrial espionage after two employees of a firm that works for German carmaker BMW were found closely scrutinising the scheme, Le Figaro newspaper reported Tuesday.
The two technicians, who work for Aachen-based engineering company P3, were arrested on September 5 after being spotted using electronic equipment to conduct tests at Autolib’ recharging stations, the report said.
They were held for questioning and were released on Friday.
Both P3 and BMW France have denied the allegations, which come two days before the start of the Frankfurt Motor Show.
This year’s edition of the expo is focusing on green cars, with BMW’s all-electric i3 model being premiered.
Autolib’ is modelled on the hugely popular Velib’ system, which triggered a bicycle revolution in Paris and cities worldwide.
Subscribers can pick up and drop off cars at kerbside stations around the capital.
Launched in December 2011 by the Bollore group, the programme aims to expand the market for electric vehicles by getting more people to test the technology. The four-seater Bluecar has a range of 250 kilometres. The scheme already has tens of thousands of subscribers.
Suspecting a rival of trying to copy it, Autolib’ has filed a criminal complaint for “abuse of trust” and “intrusion into an automated data system,” according to Le Figaro.
In denying the allegations, BMW France said it was carrying out “routine tests” to ensure its i3 model was compatible with public charging systems and insisted that it had no involvement in the September 5 tests.
P3 said it had been commissioned by several manufacturers to carry out standard tests on charging systems and denied any interference with the stations.