French car group Renault has been charged in France with fraud in its investigation into diesel engine tampering. The car group is still defending itself against the allegations, but has to pay 20 million euros for procedural reasons and provide a bank guarantee of 60 million euros to cover possible damage.
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The step was taken by special judicial investigators. They can sue companies or individuals in France if there are serious indications that things have not gone according to the rules. They can then decide whether to take a case to court, but are no longer involved after that.
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The investigation into Renault has been going on since 2017. In a press release, the car manufacturer emphasizes that the presumption of innocence still applies and denies that the manufacturer has done wrong. “All Renault vehicles are always approved in accordance with applicable laws and regulations,” the group said in a statement. According to Renault, no special software has ever been found in its cars that could manipulate the car’s emissions.
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Scam software
Renault has been one of the carmakers under scrutiny since it was revealed in 2015 that Volkswagen has tampered with emissions data on a large scale. The issue has already cost Volkswagen many billions in fines and repair costs. For example, Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, has already received hefty fines for manipulations with cheating software, which made diesel cars appear cleaner than they actually were.
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