Police have raided several Renault facilities, in a move understood to be in connection to the Volkswagen emissions scandal.

The raids, which took place last week, were first reported by local unions but have since been confirmed by Renault. In a statement, Renault said that investigators wanted to check the equipment used at its factories.

Several computers belonging to company directors are said to have been seized.

In a statement, the CGT Renault union suggested that the raids “are linked to the consequences of the Volkswagen rigged-engines affair,” and confirmed that the raids had targeted engine control units.

Renault was one of a number of vehicle manufacturers to welcome more stringent test procedures in the wake of the emissions scandal, which broke last September.

At the time, the company confirmed that it had not used so-called ‘defeat devices’ in the past. A spokesman said: “We invite all those legislations and framework in markets we operate in, we don’t have defeat devices in any of our cars and we welcome the improvements that are proposed in Europe for the NEDC [New European Driving Cycle] side of it.”

Shares in the French car maker fell sharply this morning as the first reports of the raids surfaced, with stock prices dropping by as much as 20%.

A further statement from Renault is expected shortly.

Volkswagen has been subjected to the most scrutiny under the emissions scandal, but it's known that authorities would be looking into more vehicle manufacturers. German officials from the KBA said late last year that they would be investigating 23 different marques.

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