Renault recalls thousands of cars over emissions scare

Renault will recall more than 15,000 cars after new emissions tests showed some of vehicles exceed agreed limits.

The cars are unsold, meaning existing Renault owners are not affected by the developments.

France's minister of ecology, Segolene Royal, told RTL Radio the company had committed to the recall in order to test engine and filtration systems.

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The vehicles' filtration system fails when very hot or "below 17 degrees", said Royal, meaning the cars can exceed emissions levels quite easily.

Using real-world tests over laboratory results, four cars have been found to be emitting higher levels of pollution than claimed.

The announcement comes just days after news that French authorities raided three Renault facilities to check equipment and seize items such as laptops from engineers and executives. The searches knocked 20 per cent off the company's share price for a while after investors began to fear a Volkswagen-like scandal.

However, investigators have found no evidence of intentional wrongdoing or the usage of any "defeat device" to cheat emissions tests.

The BBC reports that Renault has reaffirmed that it did not cheat or use software or other methods to manipulate the results of tests and that the manufacturer is working on a new plan to cut emissions across its range.

According to The Verge, earlier this month, Royal said vehicles from "several foreign" manufacturers were exceeding emissions limits, a view she added to in her radio interview this morning, saying: "To be fair to Renault… there are other brands that exceed the norms."

Renault factories raided by French police

14 January

Anti-fraud police have hit several Renault sites in France, the car company confirmed. Computers were seized and temporarily taken away from directors and other staff.

Officials said they "wanted to check equipment" at the facilities, leading to fears the manufacturer could be facing an emissions scandal similar to that at Volkswagen.

Police have not confirmed the reasons for last week's raids, said the BBC. It added that the CGT Renault union said engine control units had been targeted and that they were likely "linked to the consequences of the Volkswagen rigged-engines affair".

Renault's share price dropped 20 per cent upon the news, knocking €5 billion off the value of the company as nervous investors feared a VW-like investigation.

Auto Express said Renault were working with the French government, which owns 20 per cent of the manufacturer, to re-test the emissions of 25 models for incorrect readings and mpg figures. So far, four vehicles have undergone scrutiny by the French Technical Union for the Automobile, Motorcycle Industries.

After news of the Volkswagen scandal broke last year, Renault denied it used a defeat device in cars to cheat emissions testing.

Autocar adds that the car-makers were one of a clutch of manufacturers who welcomed stricter and more vigorous emissions tests.

Renault has since released a statement saying investigators are already of the opinion that the company does not use defeat devices in their vehicles and that no such devices were found by officials following the site searches.