Emissions probe hits Renault
All diesels suspect after VW scandal
Renault SA offices in France were searched by government fraud investigators as part of a probe into vehicle emissions, raising the spectre of a Volkswagen-type scandal and sending the carmaker’s shares down as much as 23 per cent.
Agents from France’s Economy Ministry’s fraud office visited Renault’s headquarters, as well as offices in Guyancourt and Lardy near Paris last week. The French automaker is co-operating fully with the investigation, the company said this week, without providing details on what may have been seized. French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroën said it wasn’t raided and no anomalies were found in its vehicles.
Automakers have been under increased scrutiny since September, when U.S. regulators said Volkswagen cheated for years to make its diesel cars appear cleaner than they are. The rigged engines were installed in 11 million vehicles worldwide, sparking lawsuits by the U.S. Department of Justice and state attorneys general plus investigations in at least seven countries.
In September, French authorities began randomly testing manufacturers’ vehicles to check differences between lab results and real-world emissions.
Four of 25 Renault models had been tested by the end of last month, part of the effort to screen as many as 100 vehicles. Officials overseeing the effort have signalled that additional tests under way probably won’t “uncover the presence of a ‘defeat device’ in Renault’s vehicles. That’s good news for Renault,” the company said, seeking to quell concerns.
Renault dropped 9.2 per cent to 78.67 euros at 3:43 p.m. in Paris after falling as low as 67 euros and wiping out 5.8 billion euros (US$6.3 billion) in market value. Peugeot fell 3.4 per cent, while other European automakers declined as well. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles tumbled 6.9 per cent in Milan and Daimler AG slipped 3.4 per cent in Frankfurt.
Unlike its larger German rival, Renault doesn’t sell cars in the U.S., where emissions standards are tougher. VW faces tens of billions of dollars in potential penalties in the U.S. Still, diesel engines are crucial for French automakers — at the time the Volkswagen scandal broke, the technology accounted for at least 60 per cent of their European sales.