Emissions-Related Police Raids Just Cost Renault 20% Of Its Share Price

Last November it was looking like Renault was about to be dragged into the emissions scandal which had been kicked off by VW and its ‘defeat device’. Proceedings look to have stepped up a notch, with a series of raids taking place at some of Renault’s factories in France last week, something confirmed by the company today.

The aim was to find out whether or not the French manufacturer had been using its own defeat device to mask the true emissions of its vehicles, with equipment inspected and computers belonging to directors seized. In a statement, Renault has insisted that no foul play was uncovered, but that didn’t stop its share price dropping by a painful 20 per cent, before recovering to nine per cent lower.

All this - including VW’s troubles - could well just be the tip of the iceberg, with German car regulator Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) investigating a total of 23 manufacturers including BMW, Ford and Toyota, and other governmental bodies from around the world hinting they might do the same.