Fiat Chrysler’s U.S. sales chief Reid Bigland steps down

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles stated on Wednesday its U.S. sales chief, Reid Bigland, is stepping down from the company to pursue other interests.

Bigland has been with Fiat Chrysler for 22 years.

He took legal action against the company last year, claiming it withheld 90% of his 2018 compensation as he cooperated with a regulatory investigation into its sales practices.

During a five-year period from 2012 to 2016, Fiat Chrysler’s U.S. unit used a range of fraudulent moves to incorrectly report new vehicle sales and tout a “streak” of uninterrupted monthly year-over-year sales increase, when it had actually ended in September 2013.

In July 2016, the company modified more than five years of monthly U.S. vehicle sales figures to show a new reporting method, amid an investigation carried out by federal officials including the U.S. Justice Department.

Bigland’s departure occurred when Fiat Chrysler’s talks with France’s Peugeot SA for a $50 billion merger that would form the world’s fourth-largest automaker.

The automaker has plans to meet tighter emissions regulations in Europe with new hybrid gasoline-electric versions of several Jeep models, with strategies to shift ultimately to more pure-electric models beyond 2025.

Bigland will depart from the company on April 3, the automaker said.