Opel targeted by investigation in Germany

PSA subsidiary Opel investigated by the German authorities in connection with the scandal of diesel engines rigged, announced Saturday, July 14, the German Ministry of Transport.

"There is an official hearing against Opel regarding three models [de la norme diesel] ] Euro 6 " said a ministry spokesman, adding that " nothing definite " could be said before the final results of the proceedings.

In its forthcoming edition Sunday , the tabloid Bild which does not quote its sources, says that the Federal Automobile Agency (KBA), guardianship of the German automotive sector, holds "solid elements" according to lesquel s the exhaust management system of certain Opel diesel models is completely shut down while driving "for reasons that are not technically explainable" .

The Scandal rigged diesel engines erupted in September 2015, after the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accused Volkswagen (VW) of equipping 11 million diesel cars, including about 600,000 in the US, software capable of distorting the results of pollution tests and concealing emissions sometimes exceeding 40 times the allowed standards.

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More than ten times the norms of emission of nitrous oxide

According to Bild it is for Opel models Cascada, Insignia and Zafira. In total, 60,000 vehicles would be affected worldwide, including 10,000 in Germany. They would exceed "more than ten times" standards for emission of nitrogen oxide, written Bild .

"Current production is however not affected the newspaper continues, citing internal sources at Opel. According to Bild KBA informed Opel "this week" of his suspicions and gave him "two weeks" to give his answer. But "Opel did not receive any information from the KBA" the manufacturer said on Twitter.

KBA had already asked in 2016 to several manufacturers, including Opel, to reduce their emissions, recalls the German press agency DPA. Concerning Opel, 90,000 vehicles of the models pointed by Bild (Zafira, Cascada and Insignia) were then concerned. The process of voluntarily standardizing these models continues, said a spokesman for Opel, cited by DPA.

Several German prosecutors have opened investigations for fraud, manipulation of stock market or misleading advertising against employees of VW and its brands Audi and Porsche, but also of Daimler and the equipment supplier Bosch. Several senior VW executives, including former boss Martin Winterkorn, face various investigations into fraud, stock market manipulation or misleading advertising

In June, the German justice system detained the boss of the Audi manufacturer, the first incarceration of a very senior official in this sprawling survey.

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                "Dieselgate": Volkswagen announces that it will pay a billion euros fine in Germany