Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

RENAULT

France to probe Renault over suspected emissions cheating

French investigators will probe Renault over suspected "cheating" in emissions tests of diesel motors, the Paris prosecutors office said Friday, causing shares in the automaker to fall sharply.

Published: 14 January 2017 07:49 CET
France to probe Renault over suspected emissions cheating
The company has denied installing emissions-cheating software in its car pollution control systems. Photo: Loic Venance/AFP
Renault reacted with a statement saying that its cars “are not equipped with cheating software affecting anti-pollution systems.”    
 
The company “complies with French and European regulations” and its vehicles “are compliant with the applicable standards,” it said.    
 
Following a massive emissions scandal involving Germany’s Volkswagen, independent French experts found dangerously high levels of emissions from diesel engines of several carmakers, including Renault.
   
Prosecutors have ordered a probe be opened into “cheating on key parts (of vehicles)” and into the quality of the tests carried out.    
 
Renault shares were trading 2 percent lower at 84.75 euros around 1300 GMT, having opened over one percent higher. They slumped by over four percent in an initial reaction to the news.
   
The probe comes after another global automaker, Fiat Chrysler, fell foul of US environmental standards on Thursday. The company was accused of having hidden software on diesel trucks that allowed them spew out excess emissions.
   
The Italian-American company immediately denied the charges and pledged to work with President-elect Donald Trump’s administration to resolve the issue “fairly.”
   
The shockwaves from Volkswagen’s own emissions scandal are still reverberating around the global auto industry.
   
US officials said Wednesday the German giant will plead guilty to three criminal charges and pay a total of $4.3 billion (4.0 billion euros) in fines to settle the emissions cheating scandal known as “Dieselgate”.
   
The US Justice Department also charged six Volkswagen executives deemed responsible for the conspiracy, five of whom are believed to be in Germany while one was arrested in Miami on Saturday.

ROADS

Denmark signals support for zero-emissions zones in cities

A new proposal presented by the government on Wednesday could give local authorities the ability to designate zero-emissions zones in cities.

Published: 26 May 2021 15:03 CEST
Denmark signals support for zero-emissions zones in cities
Parking spaces at a charging point in Aalborg. The sign reads "reserved for electric cars". File photo: Henning Bagger/Ritzau Scanpix

The zones would only allow access to vehicles without combustion engines, such as electric cars.

Wednesday’s government proposal states that there is already demand at municipalities for zero-emissions zones in set parts of cities in order to reduce air and noise pollution.

The government said it wants to accommodate that demand while still enabling people to live, move around and shop in the zones.

“The government will therefore look closely at whether affected residents and businesses in the area have realistic alternatives and that there would be time to meet the criteria,” the government writes in the proposal.

“A framework must also be set to ensure access for necessary use of industrial vehicles, including delivery of goods,” it adds.

A long period of transition would be required in municipalities that decide to take up the option of establishing the zones, according to interest groups for the automotive industry.

Goods vehicles could be amongst those to face the largest obstacles in such a situation, as the range on zero emissions goods vehicles on the market is limited, according to the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI).

“That means it would be difficult to ensure supply to cities where the requirement for zero emissions might be effective,” DI’s CEO Lars Sandahl Sørensen said via written comment.

The association for car importers in Denmark, De Danske Bilimportører, said that the zones would be difficult to implement without a long phasing-in.

“The proposal for zero emissions zones in particular is very far reaching and can hardly be implemented without a long phasing in period, as the range of electric and hydrogen cars with sufficient range should be greater,” the organization’s CEO Mads Rørvig said in a statement.

FDM, an association for motorists in Denmark, went further in its criticism of the plan.

“It’s far too early and disproportionate to have zero-emissions zones that would exclude 98 percent of Danish motorists,” FDM senior consultant Dennis Lange said in a written comment.

“This is a symbolic policy which will have no measurable effect on pollution,” he added.

READ ALSO: Lower Danish taxes backed for home electric car charging

SHOW COMMENTS