FCA shares fall up to 4% as French prosecutor opens emissions investigation

22 March 2017

Shares in FCA (Fiat Chrysler) fell as much as 4% on Wednesday after French prosecutors opened an investigation into diesel emissions cheating.

According to Reuters a judicial source said, ′I can confirm that a judicial investigation has been opened into aggravated cheating’ and that the case was opened on 15 March after the French Government’s DGCCRF (Direction Générale de la Concurrence de la Consommation et de la Répression des Fraudes) referred it to the courts.

The news follows the clearing of Opel of emissions wrongdoing by French authorities last week.

A Fiat spokesman confirmed the investigation but added that its diesel vehicles are fully compliant with emissions regulations, as already confirmed by the Italian Transport Ministry. It said it would collaborate with authorities on the investigation and was confident of a full resolution.

The French test programme, launched after the Volkswagen emissions scandal in September 2015, has so far referred four carmakers for possible prosecution by the consumer fraud agency – Volkswagen, Renault, FCA and PSA.

France is among several European countries to launch its own vehicle emissions tests post-Dieselgate. These tests have found that real-world nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions can exceed limits by more than 10 times for some Opel, Renault and FCA models. In addition it has uncovered widespread use across the industry of devices that reduce exhaust treatment under certain conditions, using an ostensibly legal loophole in EU emissions rules.