FRANKFURT, Dec 1 — German prosecutors said today they were investigating unnamed suspects from the former PSA car group over alleged diesel emissions cheating involving Mitsubishi, Peugeot and Citroen cars.
The PSA group recently merged with Fiat-Chrysler to form the global giant Stellantis.
“Unidentified individuals from the former PSA group are under investigation,” a spokeswoman for the Frankfurt prosecution office told AFP, confirming German media reports.
“The investigations relate to engines that were deployed in SUV vehicles of the Mitsubishi, Peugeot and Citroen brands. No further information can be provided at this time,” she added.
The probe is the latest fallout from the “dieselgate” scandal that erupted in 2015 when German automaker Volkswagen admitted tampering with millions of diesel vehicles to dupe emissions tests.
They were equipped with so-called defeat devices to make the engines seem less polluting in lab tests than they were on the road.
The scandal has since ensnared several top European carmakers, including Daimler, Fiat and Renault. Prosecutors have also targeted car part suppliers Bosch and Continental over their alleged roles in the development of the cheating software.
The “dieselgate” saga has so far cost the Volkswagen group more than 30 billion euros (US$34 billion) in fines, legal fees and compensation. — AFP
