Opel has been cleared of cheating emissions tests in France, following an investigation by the French Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF).
A DGCCRF statement clarifies that no evidence of deception was found in the cars’ NOx emissions, following the Volkswagen emissions scandal.
Tests were carried out by France’s Technical Union of Automobiles, Motorcycles and Cycles and the French Institute of Petroleum’s new energies branch, and checked against manufacturers’ official figures.
Since the VW emissions scandal first broke, numerous manufacturers’ emissions have been called into question, including investigations into Renault, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group which now owns Opel and UK subsidiary Vauxhall, in addition to Peugeot, Citroen and DS.
The DGCCRF added that despite Opel’s vindication, scrutiny of PSA Group is still taking place.
A PSA Group statement said: "PSA takes note of the decision made by the French Competition, Consumer Affairs and Prevention of fraud department (DGCCRF) to send the conclusions of its investigation to the public prosecutor, and expresses its surprise at this decision.
PSA would like to emphasise that the Group complies with the regulations in force in all countries where it operates. The Group’s vehicles have never been equipped with software or devices to detect a compliance test and to activate a pollutant treatment device that would be inactive in customer use. The results of the tests carried out by different European and French authorities have confirmed that the Group's vehicles comply with regulatory tests criteria."
We are awaiting official comment from Vauxhall.
