Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV is going to pay over $700 million to deal with the lawsuits from the U.S. Justice Department and diesel owners over claims it utilized illegal software to permit 104,000 diesel vehicles to emit excess emissions, three people knowledgeable on the matter stated on Wednesday.
Fiat Chrysler will pay $311 million in civil fines to U.S. and California regulators, about $75 million to states probing the excess emissions and extra funds to offset excess emissions from the older cars. It will also pay $280 million to deal with a lawsuit by owners, the sources stated.
Fiat Chrysler has rejected any wrongdoing and stated earlier there was never an attempt to create software to evade emissions rules. In October, the company set aside 713 million euros ($815 million) to cover possible costs associated to the case.
Independently, Robert Bosch GmbH, a German auto supplier that made some components for the Fiat Chrysler diesel engines, is anticipated to announce it will settle suits from U.S. owners for $30 million, one person stated.
The Environmental Protection Agency issued a media advisory Wednesday that stated it would make an “announcement of a significant civil action to address cheating on federal auto-emissions tests.”
The Justice Department took legal action against Fiat Chrysler in May 2017, accusing it of illegally utilizing software that led to excess emissions in 104,000 U.S. diesel vehicles from the 2014-2016 model years.
Fiat Chrysler gained approval from U.S. regulators in July 2017 to sell diesel vehicles with upgraded software. The company has frequently said it hoped to use that software to address agencies’ issues over the 2014-2016 vehicles.
The company is not anticipated to make any hardware modifications to the vehicles and the repair will not impact the vehicle’s fuel economy, two people stated.
