Nissan Qashqai Banned From South Korea for Emissions Cheating; BMW and Porsche are Also Involved

Right before Nissan unveils their small crossover called Qashqai at NAIAS, they’ve been banned from selling the compact crossover in South Korea. Nissan, BMW and Porsche have 10 vehicles banned by the South Korean government after the carmakers were found to have fabricated certification documents, in the latest fallout from the Volkswagen emissions scandal.

The popular Nissan Qashqai compact crossover is going to be sold here in the U.S. and its diesel variant is one of the cars banned by the environment ministry. The automakers are being fined a combined 7.17 billion won ($5.9 million) for the affected 4,523 vehicles already sold in South Korea.

We reported back in May, Nissan originally denied the allegations from the South Korean Ministry of the Environment who says Nissan used emissions-cheating software in its Qashqai that shuts off the small crossover’s exhaust reduction system during normal driving conditions.

A report from Reuters, says, Nissan and BMW AG acknowledged the findings in the government investigation, saying they would try to achieve certification for those affected models again. The report says, a spokesperson at Porsche AG, which is owned by Volkswagen, was not available for comment.

Nissan won’t be selling the Qashqai diesel model in the U.S. when it arrives later this year. In the UK, it’s powered by two gasoline turbocharged engines, either the DIG-T 115 or the powerful DIG-T 163 with its 240Nm (177 lb. ft) of torque. They come mated to either a 6-speed manual gearbox or with the Xtronic automatic transmission.

The popular European Nissan Qashqai compact crossover is banned for now in South Korea. It’s coming to U.S. shores and will be unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next week.

Photo credit: Nissan UK