Truck engine maker Cummins has agreed in principle to pay a $1.675 billion fine for installing devices on hundreds of thousands of engines to allow them to emit excess pollution, the largest civil penalty ever for violations of the Clean Air Act, the Justice Department said Friday.
The department said Cummins allegedly installed so-called “defeat devices” to bypass or disable emissions controls such as emissions sensors and on-board computers.
The department said Cummins used the defeat device in 630,000 2013 through 2019 RAM 2500 and 3500 pickup truck engines and an undisclosed additional emission control device in 330,000 2019 through 2023 RAM 2500 and 3500 pickup truck engine controls.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland said “preliminary estimates suggest that a failed device on some Cummins engines has caused them to produce thousands of tons of excess nitrogen oxide emissions.” It is the second largest environmental penalty agreement ever reached, the department said.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan said “vulnerable communities are more likely to live near highways where these hazardous emissions are concentrated, making this agreement critical to advancing our environmental justice agenda.”
The Justice Department said Cummins used a defeat device on RAM pickup truck engines. Reuters
Cummins said it expects to take a charge of nearly $2.04 billion in the fourth quarter to settle regulatory claims related to nearly one million engines from the Department of Justice and the California Air Resources Board.
“The company has seen no evidence that anyone acted with malice and has not admitted wrongdoing,” Cummins said in a statement.
The formal settlement, which requires court approval, will be made public as early as next month.
The owner of RAM Stellantis declined to comment.
960,000 of the vehicles have been recalled and the emissions control software will be updated, said Cummins, which previously took a $59 million charge for the emissions recall.
Cummins first announced in April 2019 that it was internally reviewing its certification and compliance process.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland said “preliminary estimates suggest that a failed device on some Cummins engines has caused them to produce thousands of tons of excess nitrogen oxide emissions.” AP
Cummins previously said US regulators are looking into Nissan Titan trucks from the 2016 to 2019 model years and that it is developing new software calibrations and hardware fixes and will recall the trucks.
Cummins previously took a $59 million charge to address RAM costs and the Titan recall. Nissan did not immediately comment Friday.
The company, which also counts PACCAR and Daimler Trucks North America as its customers, said about $1.93 billion is expected to be paid in the first half of 2024.
Jeffries said in a research note that the charges “are substantial but are not expected to impact normal business operations.” Cummins shares fell 2.3% in early afternoon trading to $238.47.
“The company has seen no evidence that anyone acted with malice and has not admitted wrongdoing,” Cummins said in a statement. Reuters
In August 2022, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ US business — now a unit of Stellantis — pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy and paid nearly $300 million to settle a Justice Department diesel emissions fraud investigation spanning several years.
FCA US LLC was also sentenced to three years of organizational probation.
Volkswagen paid $1.45 billion in US civil penalties in 2017 after the German automaker revealed in 2015 that it had cheated emissions tests by installing “defeat devices” in 11 million vehicles worldwide, using sophisticated software to reduce emissions only during emissions tests.
Volkswagen collectively settled US civil and criminal actions fueled by the emissions scandal for more than $20 billion.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
