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Nissan Korea denies alleged emissions fabrication on diesel model

Xinhua, May 17, 2016 Adjust font size:

Nissan Korea, the South Korean unit of Japanese automaker Nissan, has denied the alleged emissions fabrication on its diesel model Qashqai sold here in the past six months.

The local unit said on its website on Monday night that its Qashqai compact crossover had passed appropriate tests in South Korea as it did the tight tests in Europe, flatly denying the faked emissions result allegations on any of its models.

The company expressed deep regrets for causing concerns among South Korean consumers, saying it will actively cooperate with the South Korean environment ministry to smoothly resolve the issue.

The statement came after the Ministry of Environment said Monday that emissions result of Nissan's Qashqai model was illegally faked, announcing its plan to order a recall and a sales stop of the diesel model.

The announcement was based on the ministry's nationwide investigation into 20 diesel models, sold here between December last year and April this year, after German carmaker Volkswagen's emissions scandal in 2015.

If confirmed, it would mark the first time since Volkswagen's emissions fabrication last year that a foreign carmaker faked emissions result here.

According to the environment ministry, 814 Qashqai models, sold here between November last year and May 11, used the so-called defeat device to reduce the emissions of nitrogen oxide during the test.

The ministry plans to levy 330 million won (280,000 U.S. dollars) in fines on Nissan Korea within this month after receiving opinions from the company. It plans to order a recall on all of the 814 sold vehicles, while suspending the sales of the model.

It also plans to file a complaint against Takehiko Kikuchi, the chief of Nissan Korea, with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office for the alleged emissions fabrication.

Meanwhile, a South Korean law firm is seeking to collect local consumers, who bought the Qashqai vehicles, to file a class-action lawsuit against Nissan Korea.

The proposed suit would reportedly call for the Japanese automaker to refund the purchase costs to South Korean consumers and make compensations to buyers. Endit