Update 20/01/2016: Renault will recall over 15,000 of its vehicles following raids by French Fraud invesitgators at its site last week.
Renault will recall 15,800 Captur SUVs and offer an emissions software update for up to 700,000 cars, according to a Tuesday Bloomberg report.
Despite passing lab tests, a number of Renault vehicles have been shown not to have met emissions standards in some real-world conditions.
Before the raids, officials had discovered inconsistencies between its spot checks and lab-tested emissions figures in four of the manufacturer’s models. But there’s been no accusation of foul play levied at Renault. Instead, it’s implied that the lab tests were not sufficiently stringent to ensure an accurate measure for real-world use.
The Renault situation is in stark contrast to the accusations levelled at fellow car manufacturer VW last year. The German carmaker was using software to systematically reduce its emission results during official emissions tests. Authorities do not believe such fraud has been perpetrated by Renault.
Renault said that it’s cooperating fully with the investigation, without providing details on what may have been seized. The company remains confident about the results of the investigation and said it never used software to cheat on emissions tests.
Original story 14/01/2016:
French automotive manufacturer, Renault, has confirmed police have raided several of its factories.
The news first came to light from the CGT Renault union, which said equipment including engine control units and personal computers of several directors had been seized in the raids.
Fraud investigators are believed to be looking at the way Renault uses exhaust emissions technology. Renault said while tests carried out by the manufacturer show no evidence its engine devices had been designed to cheat emissions tests.e
While the company has stated it is doing everything to cooperate with investigators, investors in the company have shown their fear that Renault was being investigated for cheating emissions tests, similar to those which have tied Volkswagen in scandal since last September.
Only last month, Renault said it planned to invest €50m to bring its vehicles’ actual emission levels in line with the results from official tests.
Since the news broke earlier today, Renault share shave plunged 20%, wiping almost €5bn off the company’s market value in its worst day of trading in over 20 years.
Police have not officially confirmed why the raids were carried out.
