South Korea Accuses Nissan of Emissions Cheating on Qashqai Crossover

Now it’s Nissan’s turn to come under fire for allegedly trying to circumvent emissions regulations. South Korean government officials have accused Nissan of manipulating emissions tests on the diesel-powered Qashqai compact crossover.

The Environment Ministry of South Korea began cracking down on diesel cars ever since Volkswagen’s worldwide emissions scandal broke. After looking at 20 different diesel models sold across the country, South Korea noticed emissions discrepancies in some vehicles. But the Qashqai was the only model that was allegedly found with a cheat device.

Nissan denies the claims. “The Nissan Qashqai has been correctly homologated under Korean regulations. Nissan has not and does not employ illegal defeat or cheat devices in any of the cars that we make. Furthermore, following stringent testing and using similar standards to the Korean tests, EU authorities have concluded that Nissan vehicles they tested used no illegal defeat device,” the automaker said in a statement to Motor Trend.

South Korea has ordered Nissan to stop selling the Qashqai and recall all 814 models sold there, reports The New York Times. Nissan will also have to pay 330 million won, or approximately $280,000, as a result of the alleged cheating. Perhaps worst of all, officials are looking to slap the chief of Nissan’s South Korean operations with criminal charges of violating emissions standards.

Nissan says it’s willing to cooperate with authorities to clear up the situation. “Although the conclusions reached by the Korean authorities are inconsistent with those of other regulators, Nissan will carefully assess and consider appropriate next steps,” the automaker said in its statement. “Nissan is committed to upholding the law and meeting or exceeding regulations in every market where we operate.”

The findings from South Korea line up with a report from the British government, which also found discrepancies in the emissions levels produced by the Qashqai. The British report didn’t find evidence of a cheat device in that model.

Nissan and Volkswagen aren’t the only automakers to face these types of challenges. Mercedes-Benz faces a class-action lawsuit due to claims that its diesel cars emit dangerous levels of nitrogen oxides at low temperatures.

Source: The New York Times, Nissan

The post South Korea Accuses Nissan of Emissions Cheating on Qashqai Crossover appeared first on Motor Trend.

from Motor Trend http://ift.tt/1siSXEI