Renault Faces Criticism Over Disclosure of Emissions Raids
- 8 years ago
French investigators swept into three Renault SA sites on the morning of Jan. 7 looking for evidence the automaker cheated on emissions tests.
The raids remained a secret for nearly a week until a trade union mentioned the news almost as an afterthought in a leaflet about jobs.
If management thought the visit wasn’t worth mentioning, they were quickly proven wrong.
The stock slumped 23 percent, wiping out 5.8 billion euros of market value before recovering to close down 10 percent.
Renault later issued a press release confirming the raids, while trying to stem the sell-off by saying nothing sinister had been found.
Investors panicked as the specter of a Volkswagen AG-type scandal loomed after revelations that the Economy Ministry’s fraud office visited the company’s headquarters as well as sites in Guyancourt and Lardy.
Lawyers said Renault should have disclosed the raid itself and may face legal claims.
The raids remained a secret for nearly a week until a trade union mentioned the news almost as an afterthought in a leaflet about jobs.
If management thought the visit wasn’t worth mentioning, they were quickly proven wrong.
The stock slumped 23 percent, wiping out 5.8 billion euros of market value before recovering to close down 10 percent.
Renault later issued a press release confirming the raids, while trying to stem the sell-off by saying nothing sinister had been found.
Investors panicked as the specter of a Volkswagen AG-type scandal loomed after revelations that the Economy Ministry’s fraud office visited the company’s headquarters as well as sites in Guyancourt and Lardy.
Lawyers said Renault should have disclosed the raid itself and may face legal claims.