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Renault Claims Its Cars Are Clean of Defeat Device Software

As a consequence of the Dieselgate scandal, the French Government established the French Homologation Authority (UTAC) to verify if French car manufacturers have also installed defeat device software in their vehicles. Apparently, Renault has nothing to worry about as its cars are all in order, the company states.
Renault logo 1 photo
Photo: Renault
The UTAC is already testing 100 vehicles, including 25 Renault vehicles. At the end of December 2015, 11 vehicles had already been tested, including 4 Renault cars. As an insurance for the French carmaker, the French Authority for Energy and Climate (DGCCRF) already considers that no such devices are to be found in Renault’s vehicles.

Just to be sure, the DGCCRF carried out some extra on-site and material investigations at the automaker’s headquarters, Renault Technical Center and Technocentre, but until now nothing wrong has been found.

Unfortunately for Renault, disaster struck today, as a raid on its headquarters caused the worst drop in its share value in 17 years, because of the suspicion of emissions fraud. Renault's shares fell 21% to 68,70 euros at the Paris Stock Exchange. The decline marked a $6.3 billion decrease in market share. The last time this happened was in 1999 after a situation with the unions, when the company suffered a 23% decline in market share.

Apparently, other carmakers had to deal with this kind of situations in the past. Back in September 2015, when the Dieselgate scandal reached its peak, BMW AG shares dropped 9.3% after German magazine Auto Bild accused the brand of declaring false emission figures on specific models. Although the claims were immediately dismantled, the stock market damage had been done.

At the beginning of December 2015, Paris hosted the COP21, where important decisions towards a cleaner environment were made. Following this successful event, Renault intends to accelerate its investments towards industrial solutions aiming at protecting the planet. Already in the top 3 concerning improvement programs of the carbon footprint over the last three years, the French carmaker has reduced the carbon emissions of its vehicles by 10%.
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