The company said in a statement that it was in talks with the Justice Department and “is seeking a fair and equitable resolution to this matter.” But Fiat Chrysler also said it would defend itself “against any claims
that the company deliberately installed defeat devices to cheat U. S. emissions tests.”
The term “defeat device” refers to software installed on vehicles to allow them to deliberately evade
pollution standards by detecting when a car is being tested in a laboratory for its emissions levels.
By JACK EWINGMAY 18, 2017
FRANKFURT — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, one of the world’s biggest carmakers, said on Thursday
that it was in talks with the Department of Justice to settle an investigation into diesel deception, as growing evidence points to the carmaker’s use of illegal software to evade emissions tests.
Volkswagen’s use of such illegal software in 600,000 Volkswagen, Audi
and Porsche diesel cars sold in the United States, out of 11 million fitted with the device worldwide, has caused it enormous problems.
With the exception of Volkswagen, though, European carmakers have been able to escape consequences because of loopholes in European rules
that allow carmakers to throttle down pollution controls to protect the engine.
Daimler, the maker of Mercedes cars, has disclosed
that the Justice Department is investigating emissions of its diesel vehicles in the United States and that prosecutors in Stuttgart, Germany, have opened a criminal investigation.
Researchers from the University of the Ruhr in Bochum, Germany,
and the University of California, San Diego, said they found evidence of a so-called defeat device in a diesel Fiat 500X, a compact S. U.V.
