Lets talk about cars/motorsports

French carmaker Renault said fraud investigators had inspected three of its sites to look into its vehicle emissions technology - news that wiped billions off its market value in an echo of the scandal engulfing German rival Volkswagen.

Renault said investigations to date had found "no evidence of a defeat device equipping Renault vehicles", in a reference to a type of software programme Volkswagen was found to have used by U.S. investigators to cheat emissions tests.

French Energy Minister Segolene Royal, who had ordered tests for emissions technology on French and foreign-made cars, said that there was no sign of fraud by Renault. "Shareholders and employees should be reassured," she told reporters, adding that defeat-device software had been found only on VW cars and no other brands.

However, preliminary results from the tests also showed that emissions exceeded limits on vehicles made by Renault and by some foreign carmakers, Royal added. She also said other manufacturers in France had been visited by the fraud investigators.

Renault shares fell as much as 22 percent after union officials first said the sites had been searched, prompting the company to issue a statement confirming the inspections. It said fraud investigators were looking at the way it uses exhaust emissions technology in an additional inquiry of parts and factories that follows an earlier investigation by the French government.

Volkswagen last year admitted to using software to conceal the level of toxic emissions from some of its diesel vehicles in the United States. It faces billions of dollars in claims from owners of vehicles with similar software installed around the world.

The case has prompted investigations across several countries into Volkswagen, as well as checks on other car manufacturers and a tightening of emissions regulations which some industry analysts think could hit the entire diesel vehicle industry - a key market for Renault

The French company saw some 5 billion euros erased from its market capitalisation in the worst day since its shares were first listed in 1994, according to Reuters data. The shares pulled back from their losses in heavy trading after the statement to close down 10.3 percent at 77.75 euros.

"It’s hard to believe that VW would have been the only one to have rigged emissions testing," said Clairinvest fund manager Ion-Marc Valahu, adding that he had sold out of his shares in European carmakers.

A government-mandated independent commission is conducting tests on 100 vehicles made by French carmakers, with 25 from Renault to be checked - equivalent to its French market share. As of the end of December, four Renault vehicles out of a total of 11 had been tested and no signs of defeat technology had so far been discovered, the company said.

A member of the commission, Green lawmaker Denis Baupin, said Renault would address the panel next week about how to remedy the over-limit emissions detected in its cars. "Renault's test clearly revealed anomalies and it's not by chance that fraud investigators decided to probe Renault," Baupin told Reuters.

The company said in a statement fraud investigators had "decided to conduct an additional investigation on parts and sites with the aim of definitively validating the initial analysis by the independent technical commission." It added that its corporate headquarters and two technical sites had been targeted by the searches and that employees were fully cooperating.

Ford Motor Co (F.N) said on Monday it will close all operations in Japan and Indonesia this year as it sees "no reasonable path to profitability" in the two countries where it has struggled to gain market share.

Ford will exit all areas of business, including shuttering dealerships and stopping sales and imports of Ford and Lincoln vehicles, according to an email from Asia Pacific President Dave Schoch to all employees in the region viewed by Reuters. Product development carried out in Japan will be shifted elsewhere.

"Unfortunately, this also means that our team members based in Japan and Indonesia will no longer work for Ford Japan or Ford Indonesia following the closures," Schoch wrote in an email regarding the decision that was sent to employees on Monday.

Ford, one of Detroit's "big three" automakers, follows in the footsteps of General Motors Co (GM.N), which last year decided to stop making GM-branded cars in Indonesia - with the loss of 500 jobs - amid intense competition from Japanese rivals.

Ford began operating in Japan in 1974 and has 52 dealerships in the country, employing 292 people. Last year, it sold around 5,000 vehicles in Japan and held a share of around 1.5 percent of the imported new car market.

In Indonesia, where it entered the market in 2002, Ford has a staff of 35 and sells through 44 franchised dealerships. Last year, it sold around 6,000 vehicles, taking a 0.6 percent share of the total new car market in a country struggling from economic slowdown.

"In Indonesia, without local manufacturing ... there's just really no way that automakers can compete in that market, and we do not have local manufacturing," said a Ford spokeswoman based in Shanghai, confirming the content of the email.

The company has also had a tough time selling its Fiestas, Mustangs and Explorers in the Japanese market, which is dominated by Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), Honda Motor Co (7267.T), Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) and other domestic brands.

On top of that, vehicle sales have been falling in Japan as the population ages and demand for cars by young people decreases.