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Renault Vows to Narrow Lab vs. Road Emissions Gap

Renault SA says it will present a plan within a few weeks to narrow the gap between its vehicle emissions as measured in the laboratory and on the road.
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Renault SA says it will present a plan within a few weeks to narrow the gap between its vehicle emissions as measured in the laboratory and on the road.

A French regulatory commission has cleared the company of any deliberate wrongdoing. But it did find significant differences in the two measures for some models made by Renault and others.

Environmentalists say such gaps are widespread in Europe. That’s because regulators permits carmakers to “optimize” vehicles—by removing standard equipment to lighten them, for example—to improve emission test results. An analysis by the International Council on Clean Transportation says the average discrepancy between lab and road emissions is about 35% for all cars in Europe.

Renault’s stock price has dropped 13% since last Thursday, when the company disclosed three of its offices had been raided earlier this month by French fraud agency officials. France’s environmental ministry said on Friday it had no immediate intent to fine Renault for the shortfall, pending clarification on the size of the gap.

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