[PARIS] Fiat-Chrysler became Tuesday the fifth carmaker charged in France in connection with the "dieselgate" emissions cheating scandal, the company's lawyer told AFP.

The automaker joins Volkswagen, Renault, Peugeot and Citroen over allegations they deceived customers over emissions produced by their diesel vehicles.

Fiat-Chrysler was also placed under assisted witness status for obstructing the investigation and ordered to post a 150,000-euro (S$239,802) bond and obtain a bank guarantee for 200,000 euros, said the company's lawyer, Alexis Gublin.

A source close to the investigation confirmed the information.

He said Fiat-Chrysler disputes the allegations and maintains that all the vehicles met the standards then in force.

Fiat-Chrysler would now have the opportunity to present its case and prove that it had not committed any crimes, he added.

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Fiat-Chrysler, Peugeot and Citroen are now all part of the Stellantis group.

The dieselgate scandal erupted in 2015 when a US investigation revealed that VW had equipped around 11 million vehicles with devices capable of lowering carbon dioxide emissions during tests, even though actual emissions could be up to 40 times higher.

The company later admitted to the trickery, dealing a massive blow to its reputation for solid engineering and well-built vehicles.

Fines, legal fees and vehicle refits, recalls and compensation have already cost VW around 32 billion euros.

Other brands, including BMW, Porsche and Daimler have been caught up in the dieselgate affair as well.

After five years of probes in France, the move to charge companies opens up the possibility that the case will reach a courtroom and potentially result in fines that could reach in the billions of euros as well as separate claims for damages from car owners.

AFP