“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.
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The German government has accused Fiat-Chrysler of building emissions cheating technology into some vehicles, in a letter to the European Commission seen by AFP on Thursday.
Germany’s auto watchdog KBA began testing vehicles of several carmakers after the diesel emissions scandal that engulfed Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest auto manufacturer.
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.
A source at the Italian infrastructure ministry, which includes the national motor vehicle authority, said Italy had not received any communication from the German government on the matter. It said the emissions treatment system was throttled back after 22 minutes. Italian Transport Minister Graziano Delrio replied in an interview with Bloomberg a month later that the carmaker’s vehicles were “absolutely fine” and the company showed “maximum transparency”.
German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said in May that he doubts Fiat’s cars are in line with rules for emissions certification.
The source said Italian tests had shown Fiat 500 cars conformed to emissions rules and did not contain defeat devices, adding that the KBA had never said it disagreed with Italy’s findings.
He called on his counterparts from other European Union nations to toughen emissions testing rules and require carmakers to explain why they included the technology in their engines.
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WirtschaftsWoche said cited the letter as saying “Germany does not share the Italian vehicle type approval authority’s opinion that the device to switch off exhaust treatment systems is used to protect the engine”.
