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French Authorities Investigate Renault Emissions, Company Denies Wrongdoing

French authorities are investigating Renault’s emissions control devices and practices.
1.5-liter dCi engine in Renault Clio 5 photos
Photo: Renault
Renault 1.6 dCi Euro 6 diesel engine on RHD KadjarRenault 1.6 dCi Euro 6 diesel engine on RHD KadjarRenault 1.6 dCi Euro 6 diesel engine on RHD KadjarRenault 1.6 dCi Euro 6 diesel engine
The news led to a drop of four percent in Renault’s shares, and they recovered a part of their value at the end of the trading day. However, their value was 1.6% lower than it was yesterday, and it all happened because the Paris prosecutor’s office announced that three of its investigating judges opened a judicial inquiry into Renault and its emissions controls systems.

The largest automaker in France published an official statement today on the matter, which reaffirmed the fact that it had not employed any "cheating software” or other devices that might have tampered with their emissions control systems.

Renault’s official stand is that the company complies with all valid regulations that apply in France and Europe, and that its vehicles have always been homologated following laws and regulations.

That statement might have brought back a rise in the value of Renault stocks, but this only shows just how serious a suspicion like this can be to an automaker, regardless of the company’s name.

The French government is not at its first investigation on Renault’s diesel engines, as the latter were the subject of a probe back in January 2016. At the time, authorities raided Renault’s headquarters in Paris on suspicion of emissions fraud.

The company was found to be clean, but the move affected the value of its shares. At the time, Renault shares fell 21% on the Paris Stock Market, which was the worst decline suffered by the corporation since 1999. Fortunately, the drop registered today was not as severe as the one recorded last January.

Back in 2016, French authorities completed a report of Renault’s emission systems and procedures, which was released in November by the Ministers of Economy and Industry. The said report was sent to the Public Prosecutor in Nanterre, which then sent it to its homolog in Paris, which has an interregional jurisdiction in consumer affairs.
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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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