The cars were supposed to promote The Last Knight. Unfortunately, they didn't meet the necessary safety standards for cars on public roads in Germany. Whoops.

A public statement by the Berlin police contained several references and puns, citing the lack of German street regulations on planet Cybertron, the suspicion that an "Optimus Crime" (pun intended) might be behind Barricade's loss of oil, and that both cars were being hauled off to "planet Dekra".

The car owners can expect being fined and having to cover the costs of the car inspections.

Official Facebook post by the Berlin police:
Polizei Berlin

Coverage by German media:
Berlin: Polizei schleppt "Transformers"-Autos ab - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Auto
Charlottenburg: Polizei schleppt „Transformers“ ab
Kontrolle in Charlottenburg: Polizei zieht zwei „Transformers“ aus dem Verkehr
Berlin: „Stahlharte“ Polizei schleppt „Transformers“-Autos ab - WELT

 

What a bunch of dicks. I mean do they even really drive them on the roads? I thought they rolled them off trailers and they just sit there and look pretty. Wait a minute is this for real? Lol I cant read german

 

These weren't the actual exact cars used for filming, so I can't say it's a complete loss   One need not look further to see the irony of a cop car failing to follow protocol

 

They were apparently driving on a public road when they were stopped for a police check.

Promotional vehicles being used for display purposes and being unloaded without driving under their own power are totally fine. But the moment they're actually driving on a public street, they have to meet German safety regulations. I doubt that's really different from how it's like in the US, is it?

 

Official Berlin police press release, translated by me:

Polizei Berlin

One thing's for sure, whoever wrote that was clearly having a lot of fun with it.

 

Haha that's why I was unsure if it was legit. Thanks for the translate.

 

And everyone says Germans have no sense of humor!

 

German police has the last laugh!

 

Optimus Crime! XD

 

Considering Hasbro "commemorated" one of the Bumblebee prop cars used for Dark of the Moon crashing into a (real) police car on the set with a Toys"R"Us exclusive Cyberverse giftset, I wonder if this will get a reference in the toy line as well...

 

Upon asking Paramount's PR if getting the vehicles towed were part of the marketing scheme, Paramount's representatives had this to say:

 

They could include a 4-pack of Bee, Barricade, Crosshairs, and Movie Longarm!

 

"Hey Barricade."
"Yes Bumblebee?"
"We're in prison, Barricade."
"I see that, Bumblebee."
"Hey Barricade."
"What?"
"Don't drop the soap."
"I swear to God Bumblebee I will shiv you."

 

I hope Barricade survives and has a "happy" life  

 

"Well congratulations, you got yourself towed. What's the next step of your master plan?"

"Crashing the box office...WITH NO SURVIVORS!"

 

Did they not see the faction symbols? How does any German officer not see Bumblebee and give him a pass. I guess they did not see any reason to grant an exception.

 

"YOU! YES YOU! THE ONE WITH THE POLICE DECALS! I'M GONNA MAKE YOU MY B-"
*meanwhile at bay's office*
"man, i LOVE making these movies!"
*boom*
"HI! i'm bumblebee, and this is barricade...he was a prison b-"
"SHUT UP, BUMBLEBEE!"

 

what the hell did i read?! 

 

*long pause*
"....bitch!"
"God dammit, Bumblebee..."

 

TLK Onslaught, should he ever recieve a toy, would be better for the scene considering his alt mode is a larger tow truck than Longarm and he's a new mold (compared to Longarm, who's from all the way back in 2007.)