PSA Group Now Subject Of Diesel Emissions Cheating Investigation In France

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Joining Renault, Volkswagen, and Fiat-Chrysler, PSA Group is also now under investigation by French authorities in relation to possible diesel emissions testing cheating, according to recent reports.

The new investigation was opened earlier this month in relation to alleged consumer fraud offenses by France’s DGCCRF consumer fraud watchdog, a court official has confirmed.

So, that’s bad news for those who thought that PSA Group (Peugeot, Citroen, and DS brands) was clean since it previously escaped criticism.

“PSA, which denies any wrongdoing, said on Monday it had ‘taken note’ of the prosecutors’ decision to open a full investigation, reiterating that its vehicles comply with all regulations in countries where they are sold,”  Reuters notes.

“But in a government-backed testing program last year, five PSA vehicles of the last Euro 5 diesel generation emitted significantly higher NOx in motorway driving conditions when engine temperatures were increased. By design, the cars’ so-called EGR emissions treatment is deliberately reduced at higher temperatures to improve fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in out-of-town driving, where NOx and particle output is less critical, PSA engineering chief Gilles Le Borgne said in February. The company last year began an independently certified real-world CO2 emissions-testing program and began publishing results measured for all its vehicles on the road.”

For more background, see: “France’s DGCCRF: Renault Has Been Defrauding Regulators For Last 25 Years” and “France’s PSA Group Referred To Prosecutors Over Suspected Diesel Emissions Testing Fraud.”

Image by M 93 (some rights reserved)


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James Ayre

James Ayre's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy.

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