Renault shares fall on reports of police raids on its factories

French anti-fraud police have raided several production sites belonging to vehicle manufacturer Renault, according to media reports.

But with Renault having invested heavily in diesel engines, investors quickly dumped its shares after unions revealed that French anti-fraud detectives had last week raided several of the company’s facilities.

The union said the visit prompted suspicion that Renault may somehow be linked to the emissions scandal that hit Volkswagen previous year.

As part of a government investigation on whether French manufacturers have cheating on level of pollutant emissions, the independent technical commission searched three sites of the auto company triggering a massive selloff of its stocks.

The union also said police officers took the personal computers of several directors.

Renault shares were down about 20 percent by 11:40 GMT.

Renault shares ended the day down almost 10.3 percent, with the Paris exchange’s main CAC 40 index closing 1.8 percent lower.

However, preliminary results from the tests also showed that emissions exceeded limits on vehicles made by Renault and by some foreign carmakers, Royal added. “Employees can be reassured”, Royal said in a press conference. They then recovered somewhat after the company said tests had not found any emissions-cheating software.

The raids were reportedly connected to the Volkswagen emissions scandal. It comes to the values for carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, as Environment Minister Ségolène Royal announced.

As an insurance for the French carmaker, the French Authority for Energy and Climate (DGCCRF) already considers that no such devices are to be found in Renault’s vehicles.

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