Fiat Chrysler Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy in US Diesel Case, Agrees to Pay $300 Million
- Automaker to pay $300 million to resolve criminal probe
- Company had earlier denied it deliberately sought to cheat
Photographer: Jim R. Bounds/Bloomberg
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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s US unit agreed to pay $300 million in fines and plead guilty to criminal conduct to resolve a multiyear probe by federal prosecutors into allegations the automaker deliberately rigged diesel-powered vehicles to cheat on emissions tests.
The company, now known as Stellantis NV, agreed to pay a criminal fine of $96.1 million, forfeit $203.6 million and admit that it conspired to mislead regulators as part of the deal, the Justice Department said in a statement. The company had been under investigation since at least 2017, as U.S. authorities toughened scrutiny over automobile emissions amid Volkswagen AG’s own diesel cheating scandal.