Dutch prosecutors stated on Monday they will examine possible misuse of car emissions software by Suzuki and Fiat Chrysler’s Jeep.
They were reacting after the Dutch road authority (RDW) discovered that the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Suzuki Vitara models produced unacceptably huge levels of toxic emissions during road tests.
The RDW stated that there are roughly 27,000 of the Jeeps and 42,000 of the Suzukis on European roads.
The RDW stated that its tests of over a dozen automakers following the Volkswagen emissions scandal had singled out Jeep and Suzuki. Other automakers were not found to have breached regulations.
The Dutch company has been investigating what it called “impermissible defeat devices” for the last year, after the disclosure in the United States in 2015 that Volkswagen had utilized software to modify its emissions during testing.
The RDW’s investigation was centered on nitrogen oxide emission levels in diesel automobiles that appeared much higher than lawfully permitted during road driving instead of under laboratory test conditions.
The company stated that in all cases automakers argued that the reason for the disparity was software planned to protect the motor from damage under particular conditions.
Such software is allowable under existing European law and the company no longer refers to it as a “defeat device” however uses the term “impermissible software” for when the pollution appears out of proportion with any need to protect the engine.
“For the 14 other automakers we were able to get to the core of the matter and ask all the questions that we wanted and got satisfactory responses,” stated Maarten Balk, Manager for Licensing and Supervision at the RDW.
“However not for these 2, as of now.”
