Updates reveal that 25 Renault models were being emissions tested before last week's factory raids took place; the whole situation appears to be in connection with the ongoing emissions scandal.
20 Jan 2016 | 3754 Views | By Darren Moss, Autocar UK
French carmaker Renault will recall and fix 15,000 diesel cars after tests revealed high levels of emissions from some of its models.
An official statement from Renault reveals that the affected engine is the 108bhp dCi engine found in the Captur. It is being recalled "to address an error in ...
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French carmaker Renault will recall and fix 15,000 diesel cars after tests revealed high levels of emissions from some of its models.
An official statement from Renault reveals that the affected engine is the 108bhp dCi engine found in the Captur. It is being recalled "to address an error in the engine's calibration unit", with no further engines affected. Reports have suggested that the filtration system of certain models did not work above certain temperatures or below 17° C.
Renault was however quick to deny any wrongdoing: "Renault Group vehicles are not equipped with fraudulent software or systems designed to bypass the emission control system", and the recall was a "known issue that was corrected on production vehicles from 4th September 2015."
The group also denied early reports that some 700,000 cars would be subject to a software update in relation to the ongoing emissions scandal.
Police raided several Renault facilities last week, in a move understood to be in connection to the Volkswagen emissions scandal. The raids took place at the company’s headquarters, the Renault Technical Centre in Lardy and the Technocentre in Guyancourt. The automaker also stated that investigators wanted to check the equipment used at its factories. Several computers belonging to company directors are said to have been seized.
The CGT Renault union suggested that the raids “are linked to the consequences of the Volkswagen rigged-engines affair”, and confirmed that the raids had targeted engine control units.
The company later revealed that prior to the raids, the UTAC (the French homologation authority) had already been testing Renault vehicles, with four of 25 models being examined before the new year. It said that the testing enabled "the French public authorities to initiate productive discussions with Renault's engineering team".
According to Renault, the latest police raids are part of "additional on-site and material investigations, in order to definitively confirm the first findings resulting from the analysis of the independent technical commission".
Despite such scrutiny, Renault said it is confident its cars will pass the tests without issue. It currently has the support of the French Agency for Energy and Climate (DGEC) and states that these on-going tests provide it with an opportunity to improve the Renault Emissions Plan.
Volkswagen has been subjected to the most scrutiny under the emissions scandal, but it's known that authorities are looking into other vehicle manufacturers. German officials from the KBA said late last year that they would be investigating 23 different brands.