Not only VW or Mercedes, but also Fiat attracted attention with greatly increased exhaust gas values. At Fiat, this affects, among other things, the Ducato, which is the technical basis of most mobile homes. The German environmental aid calls for recalls and retrofitting measures.
“Current measurements in real operation at summer outside temperatures on a camper based on a Fiat Ducato, the 180 Multijet, emission standard Euro 5, show an average nitrogen oxide emission of 2056 mg/km. The limit value that applies to the vehicle is 280 mg/km,” according to the lobby association Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) in a press release.
In fact, the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) had already identified deviations from the approved exhaust gas values for Fiat models in 2021. “At the same time, the KBA announced at the beginning of 2021 that it would inform the relevant type approval authorities and ask them to take appropriate measures. However, at the latest with Regulation 2018/585, which came into force in September 2020, the KBA also has the opportunity to take measures itself as a market surveillance authority,” the DUH continued. The association announced that it would sue the authority if it failed to take action.
The case is particularly important because the Fiat Ducato, as a popular van, has provided the technical basis for most mobile home manufacturers for years. Recalls or driving bans would probably jeopardize the holiday trip of many campers. The DUH calls for the mobile homes to be technically retrofitted if necessary. This retrofit is controversial among experts. Among other things, it increases the vehicle’s CO2 emissions. However, in mobile homes there would at least be enough space to install the additional catalytic converters – in contrast to cars.
During measurements by the KBA, Fiat-Chrysler noticed increased exhaust emissions in several commercial vehicle and car models. In the US, the authorities criticized diesel engines from Jeep and RAM (Chrysler’s pickup division). The group had to pay penalties in the USA because of this. While there are now hardly any passenger cars with diesel engines in the USA, this type of drive remains popular with large SUVs and pick-ups.
