This file photo taken on October 28, 2015 shows the logo of Renault displayed at the Tokyo Motor Show on October 28, 2015. (AFP Photo)
Paris:
Renault offices in France were raided by government fraud investigators as part of a probe into vehicle emissions, sending its shares down as much as 23 percent.
Renault is "cooperating fully" with the investigation, the company said in an emailed statement Thursday. Agents from the Economy Ministry's fraud office visited three Renault sites last week, the company said, confirming earlier reports. French peer PSA Peugeot Citroen said it wasn't raided.
Renault dropped 17 percent to 71.94 euros at 1:32 p.m. in Paris after falling as low as 67 euros, wiping out 5.8 billion euros ($6.3 billion) in market value. Peugeot fell 5.2 percent. Other European automakers declined as well. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles tumbled 8.9 percent, and Daimler slipped 3.9 percent.
Automakers have been under increased scrutiny since September, when U.S. regulators said Volkswagen cheated to make its diesel cars appear cleaner burning than they are. French authorities started a probe in September into whether VW deceived customers about the emissions levels of its diesel cars and promised to expand the investigation to cover all carmakers. Separately, the country's environmental regulator began randomly testing vehicles to check differences between emissions results found in laboratory testing and real-world figures.
Diesel engines are crucial for French automakers -- at the time the VW scandal broke, the technology accounted for at least 60 percent of their European sales. Unlike Volkswagen, though, Renault doesn't sell cars in the U.S., where emissions standards are tougher. VW faces tens of billions of dollars in potential penalties in the United States.
© 2015 Bloomberg L.P.
Renault is "cooperating fully" with the investigation, the company said in an emailed statement Thursday. Agents from the Economy Ministry's fraud office visited three Renault sites last week, the company said, confirming earlier reports. French peer PSA Peugeot Citroen said it wasn't raided.
Renault dropped 17 percent to 71.94 euros at 1:32 p.m. in Paris after falling as low as 67 euros, wiping out 5.8 billion euros ($6.3 billion) in market value. Peugeot fell 5.2 percent. Other European automakers declined as well. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles tumbled 8.9 percent, and Daimler slipped 3.9 percent.
Automakers have been under increased scrutiny since September, when U.S. regulators said Volkswagen cheated to make its diesel cars appear cleaner burning than they are. French authorities started a probe in September into whether VW deceived customers about the emissions levels of its diesel cars and promised to expand the investigation to cover all carmakers. Separately, the country's environmental regulator began randomly testing vehicles to check differences between emissions results found in laboratory testing and real-world figures.
Diesel engines are crucial for French automakers -- at the time the VW scandal broke, the technology accounted for at least 60 percent of their European sales. Unlike Volkswagen, though, Renault doesn't sell cars in the U.S., where emissions standards are tougher. VW faces tens of billions of dollars in potential penalties in the United States.
© 2015 Bloomberg L.P.
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