Fiat Chrysler to participate in settlement talks concerning diesel emissions

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV will take part in settlement talks with lawyers representing vehicle owners taking legal action against the automaker due to excess diesel emissions in Washington on October 12, a court-appointed settlement adviser stated Wednesday.

In May, the United States Justice Department sued Fiat Chrysler, alleging the automaker of illegally using software that caused excess emissions in almost 104,000 U.S. diesel vehicles sold since 2014. It also deals with a number of lawsuits from owners of those vehicles.

German auto supplier Robert Bosch GmbH, which makes diesel automobile systems, has also been sued by American automobile owners and will participate in the settlement talks next month, settlement master Ken Feinberg stated in court.

The government will not take part in the talks, Feinberg ionformed.

In July, Fiat Chrysler acquired approval from federal and California regulators on Friday to sell 2017 diesel vehicles after it came under scrutiny for supposed excess emissions in older diesel models.

A Fiat Chrysler lawyer, Robert Giuffra, stated in court the company was confident of being able to utilize upgraded emissions software in the 2017 cars as the basis of a fix to deal with firms’ issues over 2014-2016 Fiat Chrysler diesel vehicles.

Giuffra informed the engine and emissions controls were pretty similar in the older vehicles to those in the 2017 models.

Justice Department lawyer Leigh Rende stated the government and California were close to agreement on a testing plan with the company to see if the fix will work. The government and company must obtain representative cars to test as well, she informed.

Regulators have stated that the older Fiat Chrysler diesel automobiles had concealed emissions controls that allowed automobiles to emit excess pollution throughout normal driving.

The automaker has rejected any wrongdoing, saying there was never ever an effort to develop software to cheat emissions rules.