Ford Mondeo Under Investigation For Possible Cheating Device

German authorities have started an investigation into the diesel versions of the Ford Mondeo. The procedure comes after a report in local magazine WirtschaftsWoche, claiming the model, known in the United States as the Fusion, is using emissions cheating device.

The KBA, Germany's Federal Motor Transport Authority, will be inspecting vehicles equipped with a 2.0-liter TDCI diesel engine for the possible use of emissions manipulating software. An unnamed institute is currently conducting tests and the Blue oval company is said to be fully cooperating the process.

In an official statement, Ford declared it "neither cheated, nor used tricks," and the emissions levels of all its engines, including the 2.0 TDCI, comply with Europe's standards. "No illegal shut-off devices were used in our diesel exhaust after-treatment systems," Gunnar Herrmann, Ford Germany's chief, commented. Germany's Transport Ministry denied commenting.

According to different sources, KBA also looked into Ford's Focus and C-Max for different manipulating devices, but found nothing illegal.

German manufacturers Daimler, BMW, and Volkswagen agreed to reduce NOx emissions of its diesel vehicle by at least 25 percent on average. During a meeting with the representatives of the German government, the automakers announced they will update the software of all its Euro 5 and Euro 6 diesel models to further improve their efficiency, without a negative effect on their performance.

Diesel cars have a major role on the German market, as they accounted for 41.3 percent of total new car sales during the first six months of the year. However, customers are slowly losing their faith in the "clean diesel" technology, as last year diesels accounted for a greater portion (46.9 percent) of the total new car sales in the country.