French government technical experts will meet with Renault execs to discuss the reason why three of the brand’s models have higher than the legal limit NOx emissions while Ford and Mercedes are also under investigation, according to a French newspaper.
The French officials found out that the Captur, Espace and an unnamed Renault utility model are emitting much higher NOx emissions than the legal limit, according to the Los Echos newspaper.
The same report says that the Ford C-Max and the Mercedes S-Class tested were found to have much higher emissions than the legal limits, although not as much as the Renault models in question.
Government officials are “particularly concerned” about the Renault Captur because it’s one of the newest models which meet the strictest Euro 6 standard in their investigation, with the Espace and the other unnamed model to be Euro 5-compliant.
A source told the newspaper that the Renault Captur might have a technical problem in its emissions control system that could lead to a recall. The Mercedes S-Class tested had delivered inconsistent results while the Ford C-Max had emissions five times above the limit. Both models were Euro 6-compliant.
The officials’ plan is to examine 100 models, with 22 already tested according to the same report. All three companies mentioned above have been asked to explain why their models have failed the test.
Renault’s headquarters were raided the previous week from government officials.