Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in turn indicted in France for “deception”

The Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Italy group was indicted on Tuesday July 13 in the investigation in France into the “Dieselgate”, its lawyer announced to Agence France-Presse (AFP). FCA thus becomes the fifth automobile manufacturer to be sued in this scandal relating to fraud in diesel engine pollution controls.

After Volkswagen, Renault, Peugeot and Citroën, FCA Italy was indicted for “Deception on the substantial qualities of a commodity endangering the health of humans or animals”, a judicial source confirmed to AFP.

The group was further placed under the status of assisted witness for “Hindrance” investigation and required to pay a deposit of 150,000 euros and constitute a bank guarantee of 200,000 euros, specified Mr.e Alexis Gublin, lawyer for the Italian-American group now owned by the Stellantis holding company. These elements were confirmed by the judicial source.

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“FCA Italy disputes the allegations against it and firmly believes that the vehicles in question complied with the regulations in force and will endeavor to demonstrate this”, reacted Me Gublin. The group “Now has the possibility of presenting a precise and exhaustive defense against suspicions that it has not so far had the possibility of contesting within the framework of an adversarial procedure”, he added.

Five years of investigation

Volkswagen, Renault, Citroën, Peugeot and FCA are accused of having equipped, from 2009 and for several years, diesel vehicles with software capable of concealing emissions sometimes exceeding 40 times the authorized standards. The five manufacturers refute these accusations.

The revelation in 2015 of this scandal called “Dieselgate” had led to the brutal devaluation of the value of millions of diesel vehicles in the world. After five years of investigation in France, these legal proceedings pave the way for a possible trial, with a risk of fines of several billion euros for the manufacturers. Vehicle owners could then claim compensation.

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“These indictments confirm the serious facts observed in 2015”, estimates Me François Lafforgue, lawyer for the Ecologie sans frontières and Respire associations, as well as around a hundred motorists. He hopes that “All the light is shed, that the responsibilities are released and that the owners of vehicles victims of this deception can see this file lead to a hearing in front of the criminal court”.

The World with AFP