PARIS, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Renault, France's second main car maker, on Wednesday rejected the "unbalanced" press report that claimed the company was cheating on its level of pollutant emissions, stressing it was respecting European standards.
"Renault group reminds that none of its services has breached European or national vehicle regulations related to vehicle homologations. Renault vehicles are not equipped with cheating software affecting anti-pollution systems," said the auto manufacturer.
"Renault will prove its compliance with the regulations and reserves its explanations for the judges in charge of investigating this case," it added.
Earlier on Wednesday, local newspaper Liberation reported that France's second leading car maker had used defeat software in 900,000 vehicles to cancel the level of gas emissions.
"Renault has misled consumers on the checks carried out, notably the regulatory control of homologation on pollutant emissions," it said, citing a report from the Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF).
In January, the Paris prosecutor's office opened a judicial inquiry into Renault's emissions controls practice following revelations of emissions cheating at Europe's leading car maker Volkswagen.
In a press release, the French group refused to comment on the "confidential" investigation, adding it "cannot confirm the veracity, completeness and reliability of the information" published in the article.
After the report on Wednesday, Renault reported a 2.47 percent drop in stocks to 83.22 euros (88.32 U.S. dollars) at around 2:00 p.m. local time (13H00 GMT). (1 euro = 1.06 U.S. dollars)
