Renault has announced that it will soon recall and repair 15,000 vehicles in Europe for faulty diesel engines after tests revealed high emission levels from certain models in the automaker's lineup. The announcement comes a week after the French automaker's headquarters, Renault Technical Centre in Lardy and the Technocentre in Guyancourt were raided by the police, in what is believed to be a move prompted by the Volkswagen emissions scandal.
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Renault has communicated that the engine at fault is the 108bhp dCi diesel which powers the Captur compact SUV and is being recalled to address an error in the engine's calibration unit. The automaker also clarified that its vehicles did not have cheat software or device in order to bypass the control system and the issue was known and corrected on the vehicles produced after September 4, 2015.
The exceeding emission levels were caused by the part filtration system on certain models that did not work in very hot temperatures or when it was below 17 degrees Celsius, Renault stated. Furthermore, the automaker denied rumours of recalling 7,00,000 cars for a software upgrade in relation to the emissions issue.
Incidentally, the same dCi motor in question also powers the Renault Duster and Lodgy models in India but is said to comply with the Indian emission norms (BS-IV). While the automaker was one of the few manufacturers to welcome the stringent emissions test procedures after the Volkswagen scandal broke out last year, the recent turn of events did take a toll on the company's shares which dropped by 20 percent, wiping billions off its market value.
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In the Indian context, Renault is quite elated thanks to the Kwid's stupendous success and also recently conveyed that its Chennai facility will act as a global production hub for the entry-level car. The automaker is also in the process of introducing a 1.0-litre derivative of the Kwid later this year that will also get an AMT unit to take on the Maruti Alto K10 AMT and is likely to be showcased at the upcoming auto expo.
