The French car maker Renault was forced to deny todaya report in the
French daily Liberationthat its vehicles are equipped with software thatallowed
its vehicles to cheat on emissions testing.
Liberationclaimed to have obtained an investigative document from the
Economy Ministry indicating that emissions from two models _ the Renault Captur
and the ClioBSE 4.76 % IV _ spewed emissions more than 300 percent higher than
the legal limit in real-life conditions.
The paper said that it had consulted documents from France’s
Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention
(DGCCRF) which concluded that“the company used a strategy aimed at
distorting the results of antipollution tests.”
“Important differences between the performance of certain Renault engines
in the laboratory and their results under real conditions,” were found, the
paper said, adding theaccusation forms the cornerstone of an
investigation reportedly opened by French prosecutors in January.
The ministry’s fraud department handed its findings to prosecutors in
November.
French authorities raided Renault premises after Volkswagen was found to
have used software to cheat on U.S. diesel emissions tests. Renault recalled
15,000 cars last year over excessive levels of harmful gases, but the company
insisted there was nointentional wrongdoing.
Renault SAshares fell sharply Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in a parallel developmentGerman prosecutors searched today
Audi’s two biggest plants and other sites in connection with the emissions
scandal still rocking parent Volkswagen,adding to pressure on the luxury
division and its Chief Executive Rupert Stadler.
The raids, the first at Audi since VW’s diesel scandal broke18 months
ago, centered on who was involved in the use ofany illicit software used
in 80,000 VW, Audi and Porschecars with bigger 3.0 liter engines that
were found to exceedU.S. emissions limits.
Volkswagen has already agreed to pay more than $1 billionto fix or
buy back the 80,000 cars as part of an overall U.S.settlement expected to
cost the group as much as $17.5billion.
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/volkswagen-renault-audi-cheated-diesel-emissions/