An unconfirmed leak in April claimed that a Fiat model emitted irregular levels of diesel exhaust pollutants once the engine had been running for more than 22 minutes, raising concerns that it may be created to cheat a standard 20-minute lab test session.
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According to Automotive News Europe, letters have been sent to the European Commission and the Italian Transport Ministry, saying that Germany found unusual increases in the emissions of four FCA vehicles.
“From our point of view, evidence has been provided of the use of an illegal defeat device” in some diesel-powered Fiat-Chrysler vehicles, the letter from the German transport ministry reads.
German government sources have now told AFP that the affected Fiat-Chrysler vehicles include two Fiat 500x models, a Jeep Renegade and a Fiat Doblo.
Italian Transport Minister Graziano Delrio replied at the time that German authorities should address the issue by contacting Italian vehicle regulators and not the company directly.
The Italian ministry source said the relevant authorities had been in contact and Germany’s KBA motor vehicle authority had never disagreed with the Italian ministry’s finding that Fiat vehicles complied with emissions rules. The German tests on the other hand, found a “special nitrogen oxide catalyst which is being switched off after a few cleaning cycles“. Fiat Chrysler declined to comment on Thursday, but has previously maintained that its engines meet European regulatory requirements.
In news that may not shock cynical diesel owners, German environmental officials are positing that the use of illegal defeat devices on diesel-engined cars isn’t just confined to Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche.
In May, German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt criticized FCA for not showing up for a meeting to discuss emissions irregularities of its diesel vehicles. The probe found that some Fiat vehicles showed irregular levels of diesel exhaust pollution, theBild am Sonntag newspaper reported.
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The German Transport Ministry and the Italian Transport Ministry were not immediately available for comment. The EU is also checking Germany’s findings on Fiat.
