Nissan rejects defeat device claims

Japanese manufacturer Nissan has denied allegations that it has fitted defeat devices to its British-built Qashqai according to South Korean tests.

Following claims by South Korea’s Ministry of Environment that the company manipulated emissions tests by arbitrarily setting its engine system to illegally control gas emissions, Nissan maintains its innocence and denies any wrongdoing. Nissan has also been cleared in Europe by tests carried out by regulators of potentially using illegal emissions control software.

Jonathan Adashek, chief communications officer at Nissan, said: "Any suggestion that we have not complied with regulations and are illegally controlling gas emissions is wrong. The testing and conclusions reached by the MOE are inconsistent with those of other regulators who have themselves carried out stringent testing. Authorities in the EU have concluded that the Nissan vehicles they tested - including the Qashqai - were fully compliant with homologation standards.

"The Qashqai sold in Korea complies with - and has been homologated to - European Euro 6 standards and Korean regulations permit the importation and sales of vehicles that comply with these standards. Nissan is disappointed by the statements of the MOE and firmly denies that any wrong doing has taken place.”

Mitsubishi had falsely reported fuel economy ratings to the Japanese regulators for four models, two of which were built for and badged as Nissan’s. Read GreenFleet's report on Mitsubishi.

Read GreenFleet’s Managing the emissions crisis: an update

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