Fiat Chrysler Investigated in France over Diesel Emissions Tests

An investigation into claims Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) broke diesel emissions tests has been opened in France.

French car industry regulators have been looking into whether some Fiat Chrysler cars exceeded emissions limits.

Fiat Chrysler, already facing probes in the UK and US, said it noted the prosecutor’s decision to look into “certain alleged consumer protection violations”.

However, the company added that its diesel cars fully complied with emissions rules.

The move by French prosecutors comes after revelations in 2015 that Volkswagen broke diesel tests in the US.

France’s consumer affairs body passed a file on Fiat Chrysler to the courts for possible investigation in February.

Tests by French regulators in 2016, launched in the wake of the VW emissions test-cheating scandal, revealed pollutants from some Fiat Chrysler and other car maker’s models exceeded regulatory limits.

The move by the French prosecutor is the latest indication that questions about diesel pollution tests extend beyond VW.

A French judicial source told Reuters that the Paris prosecutor had opened the investigation on March 15, after the finance ministry’s consumer affairs and anti-fraud body had referred the case to the courts.

Fiat Chrysler said in a statement that its diesel vehicles “fully comply with applicable emissions requirements” in Italy, where its European unit is based. However, the company could not comment on which models were under further investigation in France.

The company said that it would “continue to co-operate to any investigations by competent authorities and remains fully confident that the matter will be clarified in due course”.

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