Hyundai and Kia offices raided by German authorities over suspected devices destroying diesel vehicles
- Authorities raided eight business premises in search of equipment
- Hyundai and Kia are suspected of selling 210,000 vehicles with the engine software
- Hyundai has confirmed the raids and has so far declined to comment.
- News comes just a month after Volkswagen reached a settlement to pay £ 193 million to 91,000 drivers in England and Wales with ‘Dieselgate’ cars
German authorities raided premises belonging to Korean car brands Hyundai and Kia over suspicions that they had sold about 210,000 diesel vehicles with allegedly illegal ‘beating devices’ installed, it was confirmed.
The Frankfurt state prosecutor’s office said searches had been carried out on eight properties linked to Korean carmakers in Germany and Luxembourg.
It is suspected that he used similar engine software to that used by Volkswagen in the infamous Dieselgate scandal in 2015.
This changes performance during official tests to make it appear that the vehicles produce less emissions than they would on the road.
Defeat device attack: Hyundai and Kia are suspected of selling more than 210,000 vehicles with the engine software
Reuters said the engine software was believed to come from parts companies Bosch and Delphi, which are owned by the Borgwarner group, according to a statement.
Authorities searched the business premises as part of an operation coordinated by European Union agency Eurojust.
Hyundai, which owns Kia, confirmed the raids and said the company was cooperating with the authorities.
A company spokesperson told This is Money: ‘On Tuesday 28 June, the Hyundai Motor Europe premises in Offenbach were visited by the Public Prosecutor’s Office (Staatsanwaltschaft) in Frankfurt am Main.
“Hyundai is fully cooperating with the Public Prosecutor and will not comment further on this matter at this time.”
The Korean brands are suspected of using similar engine software to those used by Volkswagen in the infamous Dieselgate scandal in 2015. This changes performance during official tests to make it appear that the vehicles produce less exhaust gas than they would on the road
The raids come a month after the Volkswagen group reached an out-of-court settlement with the group action representing car owners in England and Wales caught up in the Dieselgate scandal.
The German car giant has agreed to pay £ 193 million to the 91,000 motorists in Britain represented by law firms in the class action, which is the largest brought before the English courts.
The case had to be heard next January before an agreement was reached.
About 11 million Volkswagen Group cars worldwide are equipped with the software, bosses at the car giant have confirmed, with about 1.2 million being UK models.
The settlement amount is added to Volkswagen Group’s existing £ 26 billion Dieselgate payout, which is a combination of settlements, compensation, fines and repurchase schemes worldwide.