Renault has been charged with deceit in a diesel emissions probe led by French investigators.
The car manufacturer has been ordered to make a €20 million ($24 million) bail payment and provide a €60 million ($73 million) bank guarantee to cover potential damages, fines, and compensation for losses. Renault denies the charges leveled against it.
“Renault denies having committed any offense and reminds that its vehicles are not equipped with any rigging software for pollution control devices,” adding that it “has always complied with French and European regulations.”
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The charges spring from an investigation into industry-wide diesel emissions cheating following the VW dieselgate scandal in September 2015. In a call with reporters, Gilles Le Borgne, head of engineering at Renault, said the automaker has never used defeat devices like VW, Bloomberg reports.
“Renault deceived no one,” he said. “What we know from the VW case is not at all the same for Renault. We don’t have defeat devices in our cars and never had them.” La Borgne added that the accusations that Renault cheated emissions tests are “erroneous and incomprehensible.”
Specifics about the charges haven’t been announced publicly but an official at the Paris prosecutor’s office said Renault was charged with deceit involving a product “that can endanger humans and animals.” It is understood that vehicles involved were built between 2009-2011 and 2013-2017.
It is claimed that investigators found discrepancies of up to 377 per cent between emissions from modules during tests and results from actual rear-world use by consumers.
