Just a day after the Volkswagen Group reached an agreement with the US government to resolve criminal claims relating to Dieselgate, the country’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has accused Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) of employing software to allow excess diesel emissions.
According to Reuters, the EPA believes some 104 000 pick-ups and SUVs sold in the US since 2014 use the software, including the Dodge Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee.
“Failing to disclose software that affects emissions in a vehicle’s engine is a serious violation of the law,” Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s office of enforcement and compliance assurance, said in a statement.
“We continue to investigate the nature and impact of these devices. All automakers must play by the same rules, and we will continue to hold companies accountable that gain an unfair and illegal competitive advantage,” Giles said.
In the US, automakers are allowed to use so-called “auxiliary emissions control devices”, but only in certain circumstances, such as when the need to protect the engine from damage arises. In addition, this function must be declared to regulators.
The US arm of the automaker released a statement saying it was “disappointed that the EPA has chosen to issue a notice of violation with respect to the emissions control technology employed in the company’s 2014-16 model-year light-duty 3,0-litre diesel engines”.
“FCA US intends to work with the incoming administration to present its case and resolve this matter fairly and equitably and to assure the EPA and FCA US customers that the company’s diesel-powered vehicles meet all applicable regulatory requirements,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne denied that his company had broken the law.
“We have done nothing that is illegal. There was never any intent of creating conditions that were designed to defeat the testing process. This is absolute nonsense. There’s not a guy in this [company] who would try something as stupid as that. We don’t belong to a class of criminals,” he stated.
