Suzuki Plants Raided for Vehicle Emission Fraud
Suzuki is in trouble for cheating on the European emissions test of more than 22,000 diesel vehicles. Europe’s criminal justice agency has raided Suzuki plants in Germany, Hungary, and Italy as an immediate action over the allegations. Here are the Suzuki fraud case details.
How Suzuki Tricked the European Union
Reports say that Suzuki installed illegal defeat devices in its diesel vehicles to provide false emission readings in the European emission test. These defeat devices artificially reduce the nitrogen oxide (NOx) emission from the vehicles in controlled test environments compared to emissions in real-life scenarios.
Suzuki is suspected of tampering with the emission results of more than 22,000 diesel vehicles and allegedly selling them against the European Union regulations. The vehicles include Suzuki Swift, Vitara, SX4 S-Cross, and other models.
Italian automakers Stellantis and Marelli are also in trouble for partnering with the Japanese automaker. Both companies are a part of the investigation for sourcing diesel engines and other car parts to Suzuki.
History of European Emission Scams
This is not the first time an automaker has cheated on European emission tests. The biggest such case to date is the German automaker Volkswagen’s ‘Dieselgate’ scandal in 2015. Volkswagen has admitted to using deceptive software to cheat diesel engine emission tests on 11 million vehicles. The case is still ongoing and has cost Volkswagen more than $40 billion in vehicle refits, fines, and legalities.
After the Dieselgate scandal, a group of Japanese automakers, Suzuki, Mazda, and Yamaha, were found guilty of tampering with their vehicle emission data in 2018. This time, Suzuki is all alone, defending its case in the EU court.
The Dieselgate Scandal shows how the European Union treated one of its own automakers for messing with the system. Let’s see what they do to a Japanese company.