Peugeot Is Latest Auto Maker Charged in French Emissions-Fraud Probe
10 Juni 2021 - 1:10PM
Dow Jones News
By Nick Kostov
PARIS -- Peugeot has become the latest auto maker to face
charges in France on suspicion of emissions fraud, extending the
fallout from a yearslong scandal that engulfed the industry after
Volkswagen AG admitted to cheating in pollution tests.
Stellantis NV, the auto giant that owns the French brand, said
late Wednesday that the judicial court of Paris had ordered it to
pay a bail of EUR10 million euros, equivalent to $12 million, and
provide a bank guarantee of EUR30 million euros to cover potential
damages. The probe related to the sale of diesel vehicles in France
between 2009 and 2015.
Two other Stellantis subsidiaries, Fiat Chrysler and Citroën,
have been summoned to appear before a court in Paris in the coming
weeks as part of the same investigation, the company said.
All three auto makers "firmly believe that their emission
control systems met all applicable requirements at the relevant
times and continue to do so," Stellantis said.
A French judicial official confirmed the filing of preliminary
charges, which allege Peugeot engaged in fraudulent practices that
made its diesel-powered vehicles dangerous to human and animal
health.
After years of investigations and fines, the latest charges show
that the emissions-cheating scandal continues to ripple across the
industry. Earlier this week, French prosecutors filed similar
charges against Renault and VW. Both auto makers denied
wrongdoing.
Bringing preliminary charges in the French judicial system is a
pivotal step that means prosecutors have enough evidence to deepen
an investigation; a judge can then either order the company to
stand trial or dismiss the charges.
The step also provides the defense with access to the case file,
which Stellantis said would give its subsidiaries the opportunity
to defend themselves.
France's antifraud authority began probing a number of car
makers in 2016 after Volkswagen admitted using defeat devices to
dupe laboratory emissions tests in the U.S. the year before.
At the time, officers from the antifraud office, known by its
acronym DGCCRF, raided four sites belonging to Peugeot's parent
company around Paris, as well as one in Montbéliard, the historic
home of the brand in eastern France. Renault sites were also
raided.
Stellantis, which was formed earlier this year after a merger
between Fiat Chrysler and the Peugeot-owner PSA Group, said it
would cooperate fully with the probe to resolve the matter
expeditiously. Peugeot doesn't sell vehicles in the U.S.
Last fall VW wrapped up a yearslong compliance-monitoring
program required by U.S. regulators. The German car maker has
lately been making a push into electric vehicles.
Write to Nick Kostov at Nick.Kostov@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 10, 2021 07:09 ET (11:09 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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