French diesel car cheating investigation: Opel, Volkswagen and Renault are still suspects

According to The Detroit News, French investigators said they have evidence that cars sold in France by Fiat, Renault, Peugeot Citroen and Volkswagen may have cheated on emissions, but no evidence of cheating was found for Opel vehicles.

On March 20, local time, the French Ministry of Finance announced in a statement that its anti-fraud agency has stopped investigating Opel because it did not find any illegal fraud in Opel. The Ministry of Finance said that the French DGCCRF (French Competition, Consumer and Anti-Fraud Directorate) has submitted documents to the French court in recent months, pointing out that there is evidence that Volkswagen, Renault, Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot Citroen are suspected of controlling vehicle emissions. However, the French Ministry of Finance did not disclose whether it found that the above-mentioned car companies used cheating software or cheating devices to control vehicle emission tests. After the documents are submitted to the court, the French judicial system will decide whether to interrogate the car companies involved.

The French Finance Ministry said that in addition to Opel, investigations into other automakers are ongoing. Last week, Renault denied that its vehicles were equipped with similar cheating software. Last year, Renault recalled 15,000 vehicles due to excessive harmful emissions, but Renault still insisted that there was no deliberate violation. PSA Group said it had noticed the investigation by the anti-fraud agency and said it had never configured cheating devices or software on its vehicles. As of press time, Fiat has not responded to the French investigation.

The French Finance Ministry opened a similar investigation after Volkswagen was found to have cheated on U.S. diesel emissions tests in 2015. European Union investigators and regulators have also taken tough action on emissions cheating.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.