The Korean affiliate of Nissan faces a collective lawsuit from disgruntled consumers for allegedly cheating on emission tests.
Barun Law said Tuesday that it will sue Nissan Korea for what it calls illicit gains from test cheating on behalf of consumers who bought the company's Qashqai sport utility vehicle (SUV).
The lawsuit comes one day after the Ministry of Environment announced that the world's sixth largest automaker manipulated emission results of the SUV.
The ministry found that the controller of the exhaust reduction system in the Qashqai was set to switch it off under regular driving temperatures. The system was found to turn off when the SUV engine's intake temperature reached 35 degrees Celsius while other diesel models turned off at higher temperatures.
"Nissan has deceived Korean customers who bought the Qashqai SUV," said Ha Jong-seon, a lawyer at Barun Law.
"Since the company sold the SUV using deceptive information, its sales contracts with Korean consumers should be invalidated. Nissan Korea should refund consumers."
The ministry said Qashqai's nitrogen oxide emission was 20.8 times the legislative limit of 0.08g/km, the highest among 20 diesel vehicles it inspected.
In response, Nissan Korea denied the allegation, claiming in a press release that sales of the Qashqai SUV were approved under the Euro 6 Standard and the ministry's environment regulations.
"Nissan has not and does not employ illegal defeat or cheat devices in any of its cars," the press release states.
"Nissan Korea will fully cooperate with the Ministry of Environment and expects to settle the issue as soon as possible."
The ministry imposed a 330 million won fine on the company and ordered it to recall the 814 Qashqais models already sold. It also accused Nissan Korea CEO Takehiko Kikuchi of violating the Clean Air Conservation Act.
Nissan's case imposes another pressure on imported auto brands, following Volkswagen's emissions cheating scandal.
Last year, Volkswagen admitted to having installed a program in exhaust reduction devices in 11 million vehicles sold worldwide. The program lowered emission levels when the vehicle's exhaust was being tested.
The emission fraud case has cost the German automaker billions of dollars, and provoked governments to carry out thorough investigations into emission testing by automakers.
The Qashqai also reportedly failed to pass an emissions test conducted by the U.K. Department for Transport.
According to an industry insider, the U.K. authorities conducted tests on 18 diesel-powered models sold in the country, and none of them passed the Euro 5 Standard.
The Qashqai was also one of the top-five nitrogen oxide emitting vehicles in the tests. However, whether the automaker cheated during the test remained unconfirmed.
Barun Law said Tuesday that it will sue Nissan Korea for what it calls illicit gains from test cheating on behalf of consumers who bought the company's Qashqai sport utility vehicle (SUV).
The lawsuit comes one day after the Ministry of Environment announced that the world's sixth largest automaker manipulated emission results of the SUV.
The ministry found that the controller of the exhaust reduction system in the Qashqai was set to switch it off under regular driving temperatures. The system was found to turn off when the SUV engine's intake temperature reached 35 degrees Celsius while other diesel models turned off at higher temperatures.
"Nissan has deceived Korean customers who bought the Qashqai SUV," said Ha Jong-seon, a lawyer at Barun Law.
"Since the company sold the SUV using deceptive information, its sales contracts with Korean consumers should be invalidated. Nissan Korea should refund consumers."
The ministry said Qashqai's nitrogen oxide emission was 20.8 times the legislative limit of 0.08g/km, the highest among 20 diesel vehicles it inspected.
In response, Nissan Korea denied the allegation, claiming in a press release that sales of the Qashqai SUV were approved under the Euro 6 Standard and the ministry's environment regulations.
"Nissan has not and does not employ illegal defeat or cheat devices in any of its cars," the press release states.
"Nissan Korea will fully cooperate with the Ministry of Environment and expects to settle the issue as soon as possible."
The ministry imposed a 330 million won fine on the company and ordered it to recall the 814 Qashqais models already sold. It also accused Nissan Korea CEO Takehiko Kikuchi of violating the Clean Air Conservation Act.
Nissan's case imposes another pressure on imported auto brands, following Volkswagen's emissions cheating scandal.
Last year, Volkswagen admitted to having installed a program in exhaust reduction devices in 11 million vehicles sold worldwide. The program lowered emission levels when the vehicle's exhaust was being tested.
The emission fraud case has cost the German automaker billions of dollars, and provoked governments to carry out thorough investigations into emission testing by automakers.
The Qashqai also reportedly failed to pass an emissions test conducted by the U.K. Department for Transport.
According to an industry insider, the U.K. authorities conducted tests on 18 diesel-powered models sold in the country, and none of them passed the Euro 5 Standard.
The Qashqai was also one of the top-five nitrogen oxide emitting vehicles in the tests. However, whether the automaker cheated during the test remained unconfirmed.
Barun Law said Tuesday that it will sue Nissan Korea for what it calls illicit gains from test cheating on behalf of consumers who bought the company's Qashqai sport utility vehicle (SUV).
The lawsuit comes one day after the Ministry of Environment announced that the world's sixth largest automaker manipulated emission results of the SUV.
The ministry found that the controller of the exhaust reduction system in the Qashqai was set to switch it off under regular driving temperatures. The system was found to turn off when the SUV engine's intake temperature reached 35 degrees Celsius while other diesel models turned off at higher temperatures.
"Nissan has deceived Korean customers who bought the Qashqai SUV," said Ha Jong-seon, a lawyer at Barun Law.
"Since the company sold the SUV using deceptive information, its sales contracts with Korean consumers should be invalidated. Nissan Korea should refund consumers."
The ministry said Qashqai's nitrogen oxide emission was 20.8 times the legislative limit of 0.08g/km, the highest among 20 diesel vehicles it inspected.
In response, Nissan Korea denied the allegation, claiming in a press release that sales of the Qashqai SUV were approved under the Euro 6 Standard and the ministry's environment regulations.
"Nissan has not and does not employ illegal defeat or cheat devices in any of its cars," the press release states.
"Nissan Korea will fully cooperate with the Ministry of Environment and expects to settle the issue as soon as possible."
The ministry imposed a 330 million won fine on the company and ordered it to recall the 814 Qashqais models already sold. It also accused Nissan Korea CEO Takehiko Kikuchi of violating the Clean Air Conservation Act.
Nissan's case imposes another pressure on imported auto brands, following Volkswagen's emissions cheating scandal.
Last year, Volkswagen admitted to having installed a program in exhaust reduction devices in 11 million vehicles sold worldwide. The program lowered emission levels when the vehicle's exhaust was being tested.
The emission fraud case has cost the German automaker billions of dollars, and provoked governments to carry out thorough investigations into emission testing by automakers.
The Qashqai also reportedly failed to pass an emissions test conducted by the U.K. Department for Transport.
According to an industry insider, the U.K. authorities conducted tests on 18 diesel-powered models sold in the country, and none of them passed the Euro 5 Standard.
The Qashqai was also one of the top-five nitrogen oxide emitting vehicles in the tests. However, whether the automaker cheated during the test remained unconfirmed.