The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a civil lawsuit alleging that FCA used a “defeat device” to circumvent emission controls in about 104,000 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ram 1500 diesel models from the 2014 through 2016 model years. It follows news from late last week that the automaker is asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for permission to install modified emission software on those models, which have already been the focus of a federal investigation.
The automaker announced the proposal while saying it has formally filed an application for diesel-vehicle emission certification with the EPA and CARB for its 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ram 1500 diesel vehicles. FCA said the filing comes after “many months of close collaboration” with the EPA and CARB, with extensive testing of the vehicles. Spokespersons from the EPA and DOJ declined to comment on the filing. Last week Reuters reported the Department of Justice was preparing a civil lawsuit against FCA if it could not reach an agreement on excess diesel emissions. The DOJ has had a criminal investigation into FCA?s conduct in progress since last year, Reuters reported. The automaker reportedly faces up to $4.6 billion in fines, according to the EPA, and has also been subpoenaed by other government agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In January, the EPA alleged that Jeep Grand Cherokees and Ram 1500s with 3.0...