French authorities charge Renault with emissions deception – UPDATE: VW also charged

UPDATE, 11 June 2021: Volkswagen Group has also been charged with deception by a French court, it has been revealed.

Just days after Renault was charged with offences relating to its older diesel models, Volkswagen has been ordered to make a €10 million bail payment (AU$15.7M) and provide an additional €60 million (AU$95M) bank guarantee to cover potential costs if there is a ruling against the company.

Unlike Renault, which claims it did not act in a deceitful way regarding the emissions from its vehicles, Volkswagen has admitted it used software on its diesel models, designed to cheat emissions tests within lab environments.

The 'Dieselgate' scandal has cost Volkswagen Group an estimated AU$46.5 billion in vehicle buy-backs, compensation, and fines, with an additional AU$125 million fine issued by Australian authorities in April 2021.

Earlier this week, management for the German car giant settled with former company boss Professor Martin Winterkorn – allegedly a chief architect of the deception – who was forced to pay back €11.2 million (AU$17.6M), or roughly the amount paid to Prof Winterkorn in company bonuses.

The original story continues unchanged below.

10 June 2021: A French court has charged Renault with deceit in relation to emissions from older diesel models.

Authorities allege Renault used deception following a six-year probe into the emissions of some of its vehicles – a claim the French car maker strongly denies.

"Renault deceived no one," the company's engineering head Gilles Le Borgne told media.

"What we know from the [Volkswagen] case is not at all the same for Renault. We don’t have defeat devices in our cars and never had them," Le Borgne said, according to news outlet Bloomberg.

Prosecutors claim to have found some diesel Renault vehicles produced more than 10 times the legal limit of nitrogen oxide (NOx) when driven on the road, but Le Borgne says it was not deception, but rather a limitation of the emissions technology of the era.

"The limits of these anti-pollution systems were linked to the security of our clients and to their own technological and chemicophysical limitations."

Located in the exhaust system, these 'NOx traps' would fill with the harmful emissions during low-speed operations, such as lab tests. However, it's believed the units were less effective at higher operating temperatures.

"Renault denies having committed any offence and reminds that its vehicles are not equipped with any rigging software for pollution control devices," the company said in a written statement.

"Renault has always complied with French and European regulations. Renault vehicles have all and always been type-approved in accordance with applicable laws and regulations."

The French court has ordered Renault to pay a bail of €20 million (AU$31.5M), with a further €60 million (AU$95M) bank guarantee to cover potential damages, fines, and compensation.

Investigators began looking at Renault and its competitor Peugeot back in 2017, following the 'Dieselgate' scandal in which Volkswagen was found to have deliberately and maliciously deceived authorities by using software to cheat emissions tests.