10:24 am, May 24, 2016
SHARES in Fiat Chrysler fell by nearly six per cent yesterday after the German transport regulator the KBA said it had discovered emissions-cheating software in some Fiat vehicles.
The agency’s findings have been passed to Italian authorities and the European Commission, but a spokesman for Fiat Chrysler said: ‘We believe all our vehicles respect EU emissions standards and we believe Italian regulators are the competent authority to evaluate this.’
A German newspaper said KBA testing of a Fiat car showed that its emission control software switched off after 22 minutes – the standard emissions test is 20 minutes – meaning more than 10 times the allowed level of pollutant nitrogen dioxide was then released.
It comes in the wake of the VW emissions scandal, and the KBA said Fiat Chrysler may be banned from selling vehicles in Germany.
The share price later recovered to close 4.2 per cent down in Milan at 6.05 euros.
European rules mean that Italy has the responsibility of testing Fiat cars to ensure they meet EU standards. However, the newspaper Bild am Sonntag said ‘adequate evidence of an illegal defeat device’ had been found by the KBA.
A total of 64,257 Fiat cars were sold in the UK last year.
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