S. Korea to fine Nissan for emission cheating

Nissan will be fined about 280,000 U.S. dollars for allegedly manipulating emissions data on a diesel sports utility vehicle in South Korea, the country's environment ministry said Monday.

The ministry said that Nissan had used a defeat device that allows the Qashqai model SUV to clear stringent diesel emissions tests but helps turn off the vehicle's emissions management system during actual driving conditions.

South Korea will recall 814 affected Qashqais, the ministry said.

The decision was made following an investigation into 20 diesel-powered cars that began last December after German carmaker Volkswagen admitted emission cheating last September.

"Our investigation...concluded that Nissan illegally manipulated emission data," the ministry said in a statement.

Nissan denied any wrongdoing. "Nissan has not and does not employ illegal defeat or cheat devices in any of the cars that we make," it said in a statement.

Last November, Seoul ordered Volkswagen Korea to recall more than 125,000 diesel-powered cars sold in the Korean market and fined the firm 14.1 billion won (about 12.7 million dollars).

(APD)