Suzuki, Fiat in emissions probe
• Dutch agency targets ‘impermissible defeat devices’
Dutch prosecutors said on Monday they would investigate possible misuse of vehicle emissions software by Suzuki and Fiat Chrysler’s Jeep after a probe by a road agency.
Dutch prosecutors said on Monday they would investigate possible misuse of vehicle emissions software by Suzuki and Fiat Chrysler’s Jeep.
They were responding after the Dutch road authority found the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Suzuki Vitara models produced unacceptably high levels of toxic emissions during road tests.
The agency said its tests of more than a dozen car makers in the wake of the Volkswagen emissions scandal had singled out Jeep and Suzuki. Other manufacturers were not found to have violated regulations.
The agency has been investigating what it called “impermissible defeat devices” for the past year, after the disclosure in the US in 2015 that Volkswagen had used software to alter emissions during testing.
The agency’s investigation was centred on nitrogen oxide emission levels in diesel cars that appeared much higher than legally allowed during road driving rather than under laboratory test conditions.
The agency said in all cases car makers argued the reason for the discrepancy was software intended to protect the motor from harm under certain conditions. Such software is permissible under current European law and the agency no longer refers to it as a “defeat device” but uses the term “impermissible software” for when the pollution seems out of proportion with any need to protect the engine.
“For the 14 other car makers we were able to get to the core of the matter and ask all the questions that we wanted and got satisfactory answers,” said Maarten Balk, manager for licensing and supervision at the agency. “But not for these two, up to the present.”
The agency said Suzuki Vitaras appeared to emit much more nitrogen oxide after a short time on the road. The company had offered a fix and is rolling it out for the about 8,000 Vitara models on Dutch roads.
CAR MAKERS ARGUED THE REASON FOR THE DISCREPANCY WAS SOFTWARE INTENDED TO PROTECT THE MOTOR FROM HARM
The Jeep Grand Cherokee appeared to emit higher levels of pollutants when its engine was hot, the agency said.
There are very few of them in the Netherlands, and the model is no longer in production.
Jeep had proposed a software fix for the Cherokees in July, but the agency has not had a chance to evaluate it yet.
Agency director Paul Dietz said it was the first time his agency has taken such an action. As the agency had no power to levy fines, it will be up to prosecutors to do so.
The agency would continue to pressure the two firms to offer remedies and follow up to ensure the offending models are retrofitted, Dietz said. In the future, European cars would have to comply with a road test rather than a laboratory test, he said, removing the motive for installing software that tries to beat the test.