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Fiat Reportedly Facing Sales Ban In Germany, Shares Slide

Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has suffered a five percent drop in share prices on the Milan stock market after a report announced the Fiat brand is facing a potential sales ban in Germany.
Fiat 500X front grille 1 photo
Photo: Fiat
The report came from newspaper Bild Am Sonntag, and was published on Sunday quoting unnamed KBA (Germany’s Federal Motor Vehicle Office) insiders.

However, the Italian-American automaker’s spokesperson stated in a separate report that FCA’s engines and vehicles are fully compliant with existing emissions rules, refusing further comment on the matter.

The Sunday edition of the Bild newspaper claimed that a Fiat car was tested by the KBA and the authorities discovered a software code that would turn off emission control devices after 22 minutes of operation. The period described exceeds the standard emission test by two minutes, the report explains.

This is not the first time that an automaker’s shares drop after a German newspaper accuses it of compliance issues with their emission control systems of their engines. The last “victim” was BMW, wrongly accused last fall by the same newspaper. At the time, shares dropped by around 10%, and marked a billon-euro loss in market value.

Even if the allegations presented in Bild Am Sonntag were true, Fiat would still not face a sales ban in Germany, analysts believe. After all, Volkswagen was found guilty for cheating on emission tests and still sells cars in Europe and other markets. However, Volkswagen cannot sell diesel-engined models in the USA until it comes up with a fix for its emission control systems.

What’s suspicious of the situation involving Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is the cancellation of a meeting between its representatives and the German authorities, which was supposed to take place last week. As the BBC notes, German transport minister Alexander Dobrindt criticized Fiat Chrysler Automobiles for their “uncooperative attitude” regarding the cancellation, and described the behavior as “utterly incomprehensible.”
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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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