Photo: Groupe PSA
Having freshly acquired Opel and Vauxhall from General Motors, the peeps at Groupe PSA now find themselves in the middle of a scandal. Loosely mirroring how Dieselgate started for VW, the French automaker is now being investigated by the DGCCRF.
The Direction Générale de la Concurrence, de la Consommation et de la Répression des Fraudes opened the investigation into Groupe PSA only recently, and this course of events has hurt the automaker on the stock exchange. The share has fallen from 18.76 euros on September 8 to 17.77 euros on September 9, which hurts both the company and shareholders.
It all started with a report published by Le Monde, with the publication alleging that the Paris-based manufacturer has programmed shady software on almost 2 million of its vehicles. The so-called defeat device is believed to be installed in at least 1,914,965 vehicles from Citroen, Peugeot, and DS. If proven guilty, Groupe PSA could pay up fines worth approximately €5 billion.
Somewhat expectedly, the manufacturer defends itself in the face of such accusations. Gilles Le Borgne, the director of quality and engineering at PSA, commented that his company was the first to offer the diesel particulate filter as standard on passengers cars in 2000. What’s more, don’t forget that PSA is an advocate of the real-world fuel consumption test protocol in a bid to fend off the lab-based NEDC testing imposed in all markets of the EU.
In response to the ongoing investigation, Groupe PSA's higher-ups released a statement in which it explains that it’s “outraged to learn that information has been provided to third parties whereas Groupe PSA has never had access to the file submitted by the DGCCRF to the public prosecutor's office.”
What’s more, PSA reaffirms that “it complies with regulations in every country where it operates and its vehicles have never been equipped with software or systems making it possible to detect compliance tests and to activate a pollutant treatment device that would be inactive during customer use.”
Watch this space for fresh info on the investigation as soon as we get it.
It all started with a report published by Le Monde, with the publication alleging that the Paris-based manufacturer has programmed shady software on almost 2 million of its vehicles. The so-called defeat device is believed to be installed in at least 1,914,965 vehicles from Citroen, Peugeot, and DS. If proven guilty, Groupe PSA could pay up fines worth approximately €5 billion.
Somewhat expectedly, the manufacturer defends itself in the face of such accusations. Gilles Le Borgne, the director of quality and engineering at PSA, commented that his company was the first to offer the diesel particulate filter as standard on passengers cars in 2000. What’s more, don’t forget that PSA is an advocate of the real-world fuel consumption test protocol in a bid to fend off the lab-based NEDC testing imposed in all markets of the EU.
In response to the ongoing investigation, Groupe PSA's higher-ups released a statement in which it explains that it’s “outraged to learn that information has been provided to third parties whereas Groupe PSA has never had access to the file submitted by the DGCCRF to the public prosecutor's office.”
What’s more, PSA reaffirms that “it complies with regulations in every country where it operates and its vehicles have never been equipped with software or systems making it possible to detect compliance tests and to activate a pollutant treatment device that would be inactive during customer use.”
Watch this space for fresh info on the investigation as soon as we get it.
Groupe PSA denies any fraud strategy and strongly reaffirms its technological choices ➡️ https://t.co/Mbk7t6llFd pic.twitter.com/CtewnX3SDI
— Groupe PSA (@GroupePSA) September 8, 2017
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