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Renault recalls thousands of cars after failed emissions test
Renault recalls more than 15,000 diesel cars after emissions tests
(about 3 hours later)
Renault is recalling thousands of vehicles to make engineadjustments after emission levels were found to exceed anti-pollution standards in some of its cars.
Renault has recalled more than 15,000 diesel cars after an admission that its emissions filtering system does not work in all temperatures.
The French carmaker’s head of engineering said that 15,800 diesel vehicles were to be called back due to an error which was “detected and corrected” in mid-2015.
The French carmaker denied any wrongdoing and said there was no “defeat device” of the kind Volkswagen used to cheat emissions tests, but acknowledged there was a difference between its test results and actual pollution.
France’s second biggest auto manufacturer – of which the French state owns nearly 20% – is under the spotlight after it emerged last week that anti-fraud investigators had raided several company sites, sending stocks plunging.
According to the French environment minister, Ségolène Royal, who established France’s commission to investigate vehicle emissions, the problem would require Renault to correct the filtration system on Renault Captur cars produced between July and September 2015, so that it continued to work in hot or cold weather.
Amid fears it could be caught up in an emissions scandal similar to the one engulfing Germany’s Volkswagen, officials announced that no pollution-cheating software had been found on Renault cars. However, a commission appointed by the French government said the company’s diesel cars had nevertheless failed pollution tests.
Related: French government reassures Renault investors there is 'no emissions fraud'
Related: French government reassures Renault investors there is 'no emissions fraud'
The company’s director of engineering, Gaspar Gascon Abellan, told reporters that Renault had discovered “a calibration error” in the emissions-reduction system of its diesel engines in July.
Emissions tests for vehicle certification in Europe are conducted at an ambient temperature of between 20c and 30C (68F-86F).
The problem led to nitrogen oxides and sulphur not being properly eliminated, which meant the particle filter was “completely losing its efficiency”, he told a news conference at Renault headquarters.
Renault confirmed the recall, saying it involved a small proportion of Capturs produced before September 2015, when it identified and fixed the problem.
The error was fixed at the start of September and the recall began two months later, he added.
The carmaker’s director of engineering, Gaspar Gascon Abellan, told reporters that Renault had discovered “a calibration error” in the emissions-cutting system of its diesel engines, which meant nitrogen oxides and sulphur were not being properly eliminated.
The recall concerns Renault’s diesel-engine Captur model produced in Europe between February and September last year.
The manufacturer has come under scrutiny since the revelation last week that anti-fraud investigators had raided its premises across France as inquiries continue into the actual emissions produced by its cars, which have been found to be substantially above test levels. The French government, which owns almost 20% of the company, moved to reassure investors after Renault shares fell sharply on fears that it would be drawn into the scandal engulfing VW, although the carmaker’s value remains 10% lower than when news broke.
“We agree that our position is not satisfactory,” said Renault’s chief competitive officer, Thierry Bolloré. He disputed some of the reported measurements, but added: “We are the first ones to admit that we have room for improvement.”
Renault announced it was also planning a software upgrade to cut nitrogen oxides pollution from its diesel engines, in a move that could potentially affect up to 700,000 vehicles on the road. The voluntary upgrade would apply to owners of cars using the most modern Euro 6-compliant engines.
Earlier, the ecology minister, Ségolène Royal, whose portfolio includes transport, said on RTL radio that Renault was recalling 15,000 new vehicles “to check them and adjust them correctly so that the filtration system works” in all temperatures.
“New cars must meet the norms,” she said, adding that the adjustment could be made quickly. “To correctly adjust an engine takes half a day.”
She said that other carmakers found to have exceeded the norms had agreed to appear before the commission but declined to name them.
The commission, set up in the wake of the VW case, tested vehicles from eight foreign and French brands, finding carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide emissions from Renault cars to be too high, as well as those in some non-French models.
On Monday, Renault pledged to draw up a technical plan over the coming weeks to bring down harmful emissions. This would involve improving pollution-cutting systems in diesel engines to be modified through a software update from July. “There will be a proposal to customers but not a recall since the vehicles conform,” Bolloré told reporters.
Related: Renault promises plan to bring down emissions from diesel vehicles
Related: Renault promises plan to bring down emissions from diesel vehicles
Renault sales director Thierry Koskas insisted that the company was not cheating but acknowledged a problem had emerged between test and real conditions on the road.
Campaigners have pointed to Renault as one of the major culprits in discrepancies between vehicle test results and real-world NOx emissions, as awareness has grown of the true level of pollution emitted by diesel cars. A German environmental group that tested Renault’s Espace in late 2015 said it released NOx emissions, which are linked to a host of public health problems from respiratory illnesses to heart disease, that were between 13 and 25 times the EU limit.
“I want to restate this very firmly,” he said, presenting the group’s 2015 sales results. “We are not using any software or other [fraudulent] methods. In test conditions, we respect emissions norms.”
Renault’s chief competitive officer, Thierry Bolloré, said that while he disputed some of the reported measurements, he acknowledged that “our position is not satisfactory” and there was “room for improvement”. Bolloré insisted that Renault was “meeting the norms” rather than cheating tests or consumers.
Renault had already announced last month that it would spend €50m (£38m) on emissions reduction, after German consumer body Umwelthilfe found what it called “frightening” pollution levels when testing a Renault Espace diesel model.
The commission established by Royal has so far identified several manufacturers whose real-world emissions exceed the tests, but no evidence of defeat devices in vehicles beyond those used by VW.
Shares in Renault and other car companies fell last week amid fears that the emissions scandal embroiling VW might be spreading across the sector.
The German carmaker was forced to admit in September that it had fitted 11m diesel engines worldwide with devices designed to cheat emissions tests.
Renault stocks slumped by more than 20% during Thursday’s trading after unions reported the raids by anti-fraud investigators in early January, before closing about 10% lower.
