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Why Germany fined Opel

Why Germany fined Opel

Opel, part of the Stellantis group, paid a € 64.8 million fine in Germany for selling diesel cars with higher emissions levels than those officially disclosed. All the details

German carmaker Opel, part of the Stellantis group, has agreed to pay a fine of 64.8 million euros in Germany for selling diesel-powered cars with higher emissions levels than those reported to the German transport regulator. .

THE FINE

As Automotive News Europe reconstructs, the public prosecutor in Frankfurt imposed a fine on Opel after the discovery, following an investigation, that several models of diesel vehicles of the house released pollutants in quantities significantly higher than those officially reported.

Opel told German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur that the fine has been paid.

WHAT OPEL SAID ABOUT THE FINE

An Opel spokesperson said the German transport authority, KBA, closed the investigation against Opel for "breach of documentation obligations" in the approval of diesel cars last February.

But the fine notice, specifies the house to Deutsche Presse-Agentur , does not contain allegations of fraud or criminal offense; "It does not even contain the finding of an illegal dysfunction device".

PREVIOUS

In 2016, Opel told a German investigative commission that its Zafira model minivan was equipped with engine software that shut down exhaust gas treatment systems under certain speed and air pressure conditions to protect the engine.

In 2018, the German transport authority imposed on Opel the obligation to recall those models that had emitted significantly higher levels of pollutants on the road. Opel responded by modifying its software.

THE DIESELGATE SCANDAL

The Opel case is different from the Dieselgate scandal which, which started in the United States, concerned the manipulation of diesel engines carried out by some car companies (especially the German Volkswagen) with the aim of evading vehicle emissions controls.

In addition to Volkswagen, the Dieselgate also hit FCA (now Stellantis ), which agreed to pay a sum of 800 million dollars to the American government. Peugeot and Citroën, both part of the Stellantis group, also ended up in the scandal – more precisely in the case opened by the French authorities.


This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/opel-multa-emissioni-diesel/ on Tue, 19 Oct 2021 10:45:40 +0000.