General Motors alleged of using defeat devices to cheat emissions tests

General Motors is alleged of putting defeat gadgets in its trucks to cheat emissions tests, the 6th automaker connected to diesel cheating scandal from 2015, when Volkswagen confessed to setting up software to bypass pollution guidelines.

People who own or rent over 705,000 GM Duramax diesel trucks submitted a class-action lawsuit Thursday, claiming the automaker installed several such devices in 2 models of heavy-duty trucks from 2011 to 2016. The 190-page complaint is cluttered with 83 references to Volkswagen, and asserts that the ecological damage triggered by each truck might go beyond that of the German automaker’s automobiles.

GM’s cheating permitted its trucks to pass U.S. evaluations, even while they gushed emissions 2 to 5 times the legal limit under regular driving conditions, as per the complaint filed in Detroit federal court.

The lawsuit highlights concerns about the reliability of clean-diesel technology. Recently, the United States Justice Department took legal action against Fiat Chrysler, declaring violations of clean-air rules. Daimler is the target of a German investigation connected to diesel emissions, and French carmakers Renault SA and PSA Group are both being investigated in their home nation.

The concerning case is Fenner v. General Motors LLC, 17-cv-11661, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan (Detroit).