Car maker Stellantis says FCA Italy under investigation in dieselgate probe

PARIS (Reuters) - Auto maker Stelllantis said its wholly owned subsidiary FCA Italy had been placed under investigation by a Paris court on Tuesday over allegations of consumer fraud relating to the sale of diesel vehicles between 2014 and 2017.

Stellantis said the company believed its emission control systems met all applicable requirements at the relevant times and continued to do so. It also said the company looked forward to demonstrating this and would cooperate fully.

Several carmakers in Europe have come under scrutiny since the Volkswagen "dieselgate" scandal which erupted in 2015 over test-cheating in the United States, at a time when regulators have become tougher on pollution standards.

Stellantis, established in January 2021, said FCA Italy S.p.A. was placed under investigation in connection with the sale of Euro 6 diesel vehicles in France between Sept. 1, 2014 and March 15, 2017.

FCA Italy had also been designated as a material witness in connection with allegations of obstruction of the actions of an economy ministry antitrust inspector in 2016 and 2017.

Stellantis said in June that its French Citroen unit had been charged with consumer fraud by French prosecutors in a diesel emissions probe.

Peugeot, another unit of Stellantis, Renault, and Volkswagen France, the French unit of German carmaker, have also been charged in France over the dieselgate investigation.

(Reporting by GV De Clercq; Editing by Edmund Blair)