In a period of just a month, two giant Japanese automobile makers have confessed to have mishandled fuel efficiency tests. In April, the folks at Mitsubishi Motors had to hang their heads in shame after an objection taken by Nissan pointing towards inconsistencies in emissions data was proven right. A month later the officials at Suzuki Motor Company admitted to have used improper methods to test the fuel efficiency of its vehicles. Following what these Japanese auto Giants have done, it seems that the Italian-American automaker, Fiat Chrysler Automobile (FCA Group) is suspected to have committed a similar offence.
The news comes directly from the German Federal Motor Vehicle Office (KBA) who suspect Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to have used illegal software to cheat on emissions tests, just like Volkswagen did in the past. A report was sent to the European Commission and the Italian authorities regarding the same. In the wake of the infamous dieselgate scandal by Volkswagen, the concerned German authorities conducted an extensive probe and asked major car brands to join in. The investigation found out that vehicles rolled out of Fiat’s garage show some indiscretion.
According to reports, the test of a Fiat model conducted by KBA showed that the emission control system of the vehicle was turned off two minutes after the end of a standard test, resulting in the release of a dangerous air pollutant. The test inferred that 10 times the permitted level of Nitrogen oxide (NOx) was released into the atmosphere. The KBA stated that they have sufficient evidence to support their claim that Fiat uses an impermissible defeat device to manipulate the emission tests.
To obtain an explanation on the matter, the German authorities questioned Fiat over the same, but the officials at Fiat didn’t co-operate. Reportedly, the carmaker cancelled a meeting with the German authorities by sending a letter from their lawyer. As expected, KBA is not at all happy with Fiat’s attitude towards the matter.
For the moment, we have Volkswagen, Mitsubishi, and Suzuki in the scandal bandwagon. The officials at Fiat are yet to put forth their side and justify their doings, but it seems very unlikely that the carmaker will have anything good to prove. Well, it is about time to know if Fiat is guilty or not, till then stay tuned with us!