The US division of automaker Stellantis has agreed to plead guilty in federal court in Detroit to conspiracy to pay a $300 million fine to resolve an investigation into the company’s attempts to circumvent diesel emissions standards. the Justice Department said Friday.
The company, which was founded when Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot merged, also agreed to cooperate with federal authorities as part of its plea deal, a statement from prosecutors said.
The investigation focused on a claim that Fiat Chrysler was attempting to circumvent emissions standards for some of its pickup trucks and jeeps. Prosecutors said the US division, also known as FCA US, has misled customers and regulators for years.
“We expect all companies to be open and honest with regulators and the public,” Dawn N. Ison, the US attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, one of the largest companies in our district fell well short of that standard, resulting in today’s IOU.”
The company confirmed in a statement Friday that it had agreed to complete the criminal investigation with a plea of guilty and a fine. Court documents show that the company had agreed to plead guilty early last month, but the agreement was not signed by federal prosecutors and filed in court until Friday.
Prosecutors said the investigation revealed that the company designed software in some of its older vehicles that helped them meet emissions standards during federal testing, but not when customers drove them. Authorities said the deception had allowed Fiat Chrysler to market the vehicles as environmentally friendly and with ‘best-in-class fuel efficiency’.
In a related case, prosecutors last year indicted three company employees on similar charges that they conspired to violate the Clean Air Act by misleading regulators and customers about diesel emissions standards.
The company paid hundreds of millions of dollars in 2019 to settle lawsuits arising from the settlement. At the time, it was estimated that a settlement and vehicle recall would cost Fiat Chrysler about $800 million.
By pleading guilty, the company also agreed to establish a compliance and ethics program to detect future attempts at similar deceptive behavior. The company’s plea is pending court approval and sentencing is set for July 18.
