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German prosecutors raided the European offices of Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors.
He is accused of illegally attaching a control device to a diesel car and emitting exhaust gases that exceed environmental standards.
After Volkswagen, Benz, Renault, and now Hyundai.
Was ‘Clean Diesel’, which was said to be better for the environment while using diesel, really was a huge scam?
Reporter Yoon-mi Kim covered it.
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German prosecutors seized and searched eight local offices of Hyundai Motor and Kia in Germany and Luxembourg.
In cooperation with the European Judicial Cooperation Agency, the German prosecutor’s office put 140 people, including the Hesse police and the Luxembourg investigative authorities.
The charge the Hyundai Motor Group is facing is exhaust gas manipulation.
It is said that more than 210,000 units were distributed by 2020 by illegally attaching a manipulation device to the exhaust gas purification system.
German prosecutors said the Hyundai Motor Group had frequently turned off the exhaust gas purification system, emitting nitrogen oxides above the standard.
A German parts maker is also under investigation.
Bosch supplied engine control software, and Delphi made related parts and supplied them to Hyundai Motor Company.
This incident is similar to the Volkswagen Dieselgate that shocked the world in 2015.
After this incident, European automakers such as Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Fiat, Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz, and Renault that make diesel cars have been caught one following another.
In Korea, the Ministry of Environment has also imposed fines on the Volkswagen Group, Fiat, Chrysler, Nissan, and Benz for manipulating them one following another.
When it came to light that manipulating emissions was an open secret, it was even claimed that clean diesel was a huge scam.
This means that it was virtually impossible to meet the environmental standards while matching the fuel efficiency of diesel vehicles.
As the price of diesel has already soared, diesel cars are now in the process of being phased out.
[김필수/대림대 미래자동차학부 교수]
“Even in Korea, diesel engines are not being developed for passenger models. As it is the time to return to eco-friendly vehicles, the speed of expulsion is also increasing…”
Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors said they would actively cooperate with the investigative authorities, acknowledging the fact that the German prosecutors seized and searched them.
This is Kim Yun-mi from MBC News.
Video coverage: Lee Sang-yong / Video editing: Kim Jong-un
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