EU to settle emissions spat

The European Union has admitted the German government has officially asked it to mediate on its disagreement with the Italian government to determine whether or not Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has breached EU emissions laws.

Germany alleges it uncovered what it regards as an emissions “defeat” software device on some FCA cars, which switches off maximum NOx cleaning on 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engines after 22 minutes of running. EU laboratory tests for emissions run to a schedule of 20 minutes.

Italy responded by reassuring Germany the cars passed all EU test requirements and retorted that it might take further action of its own on Volkswagen’s Dieselgate breaches, along with Mercedes-Benz and Opel models accused of switching off emissions controls at cold and hot temperatures.

“We will now assist the German and Italian authorities to the extent possible with a view to facilitating a common understanding of the car manufacturer’s compliance, or lack thereof,” the European Commission’s Lucia Caudet told Automotive News Europe. “Our role is one of mediating, not arbitrating.”

Germany alleges it uncovered the FCA non-compliance during a post-Dieselgate investigation of three cars (the Fiat 500X, the Jeep Renegade and the Fiat Duplo van) sold in Germany, even though final type approval validation was under the control of the car-maker’s home market.

In FCA’s case, that’s Italy and the Italian transport department (KBA), which is why the car-maker turned down a German government request for a meeting in May to discuss its findings.

It told Germany that it could only take up its complaint with the Italian transport department; a position the Italian government duly backed up and then told Germany the cars were fully compliant.

But the German transport department wasn’t the only investigator to wonder what was up with the Fiat 500X. German magazine Auto Motor und Sport also found the car emitting 1055mg of NOx per kilometre in a 100km real-world driving test, or 13 times more than the allowable level.

Some of the European emissions testing rules are somewhat loosely written, allowing loopholes such as the 20-minute test or the “thermal switch” dodge (which turns off emissions cleaning when the ambient temperature is too hot or too cold to protect the system) to be fully legal even if they’re ethically questionable.