South Korea bans sale of some Nissan, BMW, Porsche cars; imposes penalty on carmakers

South Korea has halted the sale of 10 cars from the three brands -- Nissan, BMW and Porsche -- as they were found fabricating certification documents related to emission tests. The companies were also slapped with hefty fines of 7.17 billion won ($5.9 million).

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While the certifications of BMW X5 M, Infiniti Q50, Porsche's Macan S Diesel, Cayman SE Hybrid & Turbo, 918 Spyder, Cayman GTS, 911 GT3 and Panamera SE Hybrid were cancelled in December last year, Nissan's Qashqai diesel sport utility vehicle, which was found to have emitted more nitrogen oxides than other models, was taken down from shelves last June, the Ministry of Environment said.

The carmakers in South Korea have been under scrutiny for over a couple of months now and the government in August had said that they would call for strict action including the banning of the models, if they were found to have fabricated certification documents in the investigation.

South Korea's Ministry of Environment, which has come down heavily on foreign carmakers for forging the certifications, has also said that a criminal suit will be filed against former and current executives at Volkswagen AG's South Korean unit for misleading advertisement on vehicle emission, reported Reuters.

While Nissan Motor Co Ltd and BMW AG South Korea units have said that they will work closely with the government to get the certifications for the affected models, Porsche AG is yet to respond on the latest development, the report added.