A court in the Netherlands has ruled that diesel vehicles from Opel, Peugeot, Citroen, and DS brands contain software designed to deceive emissions tests. The interim ruling, part of a class-action lawsuit, states that all four brands used software to manipulate their emission control systems in vehicles sold since 2009. All of these brands currently operate under the Stellantis umbrella.

Decision on fraudulent software for Opel, Peugeot, Citroen and DS

The court specifically found that Peugeot, Citroen, and DS diesel vehicles released from 2014 onwards contained software that artificially lowered nitrogen oxide emissions during official tests. For Opel, this same software was found in diesel engines used since 2009. The court also stated there is strong suspicion of similar software in Peugeot, Citroen, and DS diesel models produced after 2009.

This software lowers nitrogen oxide emissions to artificially low levels during official laboratory tests. However, under normal driving conditions outside of a test environment, the vehicles’ real emissions are significantly higher. The court determined this is a technical violation of emissions regulations.

Stellantis has rejected these accusations, arguing that the vehicles comply with all current emissions regulations and claiming there were errors in the court’s interim assessment.

The court has not yet made a decision on compensation. A new ruling will be issued later to determine if any payments will be made to the affected vehicle owners. This case follows a trend of similar lawsuits across Europe, the largest of which was the Volkswagen “Dieselgate” scandal in 2015. Stellantis brands were also among the companies investigated after that scandal.