It was reported last week that Renault could be caught up in an emissions scandal similar to what Volkswagen has got itself into, several diesel models from the latter were found to be cheating on emissions tests, and VW has been trying to contain the situation ever since. No such evidence has been discovered as yet to implicate Renault but the French car manufacturer is going to recall 15,000 cars anyway to ensure that they meet emissions standards.
According to Ségolène Royal, France’s minister of ecology, these 15,000 Renault cars will be recalled before they go on sale. He added that Renault is committed to this recall to test engines and filtration systems in order to make sure that emissions standards are adhered to in all temperatures.
This announcement follows after the French government’s fraud investigators raided Renault headquarters and two other facilities near Paris and according to reports, the reason for those raids was the car maker’s emissions technology.
An investigation into Volkswagen for cheating emissions tests was started back in September last year and it was said that investigations would also be made into other manufacturers. According to investigators, discrepancies were discovered between lab results and real-world engine tests for four Renault models, however, Renault issued a press release a few days ago saying that the probes had discovered “no evidence” of any kind of defeat device like VW used to cheat on emissions tests.
Minister Royal has said that “after the Volkswagen fraud scandal, we decided to conduct incontestable tests,” which is why the new tests on Renault engines will be performed in real-world conditions
Filed in . Read more about Renault and Volkswagen.