Fiat Chrysler vehicles were allowed to skip key tests for illegal engine software during Italy's main emissions-cheating investigation in the wake of the Volkswagen Group scandal. The report, presented to a European parliamentary committee in October but never officially published, will be seized upon by environmental groups pressing lawmakers to vote on Thursday for tougher EU oversight of vehicle testing by national authorities.
The ministry findings, which have been circulated by some Italian opposition politicians and examined by Reuters, include complete sets of data for eight diesel cars made by BMW Group, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and General Motors' Opel/Vauxhall. But for three of the seven FCA models also investigated – a 2.0-liter Jeep Cherokee, a 1.6-liter Alfa Romeo Giulietta and a 1.3-liter Lancia Ypsilon – results are missing from an on-road measurement phase and a reversed version of the EU's standard "NEDC" lab test.
All seven FCA models also lack data for an "Artemis" test that adjusts the EU lab regime to reflect urban driving styles. The three skipped protocols are typically used to help unmask defeat devices by preventing them from detecting the test. No explanation for the missing FCA results was offered in the document. But transport ministry spokeswoman Luisa Gabbi told Reuters a "new definitive version" had been drafted to include more data for FCA models following further tests, and would be published in coming weeks. She claims that no key test has been omitted for FCA.
