Stellantis to pay $300 million after pleading guilty in US emissions cheating saga

June 6: Firm pleads guilty in US

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has pleaded guilty to cheating emissions in the US, resulting in a fine of US$96 million (AU$133.1m) and having to forfeit gains to the tune of US$203.6m (AU$282.2m).

The American arm of automotive conglomerate Stellantis reached an agreement with the US Attorney's office on Friday, following the Department of Justice's criminal investigation which covered 101,482 vehicles made between 2014 and 2016 fitted with the second generation EcoDiesel V6 engine.

Though the agreement is still subject to the Federal Court's approval, all consumer claims are said to be settled, so no further recalls are required.

Read on for more details in our original story below.

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The story to here

May 26: Stellantis looking to make plea deal

The United States division of Stellantis, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), will reportedly pay around US$300 million (AU$423m) in penalties after reaching a plea deal to resolve a multi-year emissions fraud probe.

As reported by Reuters, the car maker is set to plead guilty after being charged with criminal conspiracy relating to its evasion of emissions requirements for over 100,000 diesel-powered Jeep and Ram vehicles in North America.

It's understood the 3.0-litre V6 'EcoDiesel' engines fitted to Jeep's Grand Cherokee SUV and Ram's 1500 pick-up between 2014 to 2016 were equipped with software which allowed the vehicles to pass stringent emissions tests, despite violating clean-air laws in real-world driving.

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The investigation and subsequent processes have taken over five years to reach this point, with FCA having first been accused by the US Environmental Protection Agency of using hidden software in January 2017.

FCA was sued later that year by the US Government's Department of Justice over the EPA's claim, with the first charges handed down in 2019 – resulting in the manufacturer having to pay roughly US$800 million (AU$1.1billion) in a raft of fines, recalls and customer compensation settlements.

Bosch – suppliers of the engine control units (ECU) for the vehicles – was also made to pay customers US$27.5m (A$38m) in the settlement for its part, while also agreeing to hand over USD $103.7million (A$144m) to 50 jurisdictions.

While the Grand Cherokee was Jeep's best-selling vehicle in Australia between 2014 and 2016, the US case didn't affect local examples of the SUV.