A South Korean court has ruled against Nissan Motor on Thursday in emissions case, siding with the government in its allegations that the automaker had used a defeat device in its Qashqai SUV.
Nissan took legal action against South Korea’s environment ministry last year after the ministry stated Nissan cheated on emissions of the Qashqai diesel model and fined it 330 million won ($ 279,900).
The ministry had likewise stopped sales of the model in the nation and released a recall of 814 Qashqai automobiles.
The judgment by the Seoul Administrative Court is a stain on the image of Nissan, which had hoped to be rid of the charges of emissions cheating in the only country where it has been alleged of it.
The court said it believed that Nissan utilized the defeat device to deactivate its emissions decrease system in Qashqai under regular driving, which resulted in excess emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx).
“It is reasonable to believe that the automobile in this case achieved certification with incorrect and other unlawful methods,” the court stated in its judgment.
Nissan said the court judgment was “regrettable.”.
“There is no change in our position that we have not utilized any prohibited devices in our vehicles,” a Nissan Motor spokeswoman stated.
“We will think about possible measures,” she added.
The government carried out tests on 20 diesel automobiles made by numerous car manufacturers after it had found Volkswagen had manipulated emissions of some automobiles sold in the country.
