Dieselgate 2.0? Fiat Chrysler and Renault both under investigation

The US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) could have sparked another ‘dieselgate’ revelation after announcing that it had issued a notice of violation to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles – for failing to disclose engine management software that results in increased emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in particular models of jeeps and trucks sold in the US.

The EPA said that Fiat Chrysler installed and failed to disclose the software in model years 2014, 2015 and 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokees and Dodge Ram 1500 trucks with three litre diesel engines. The allegations cover around 100,000 vehicles in the US. 

EPA is working with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on the investigation. CARB Chair Mary D Nichols said: ‘Once again, a major automaker made the business decision to skirt the rules and got caught. CARB and US EPA made a commitment to enhanced testing as the Volkswagen case developed, and this is a result of that collaboration.’

Under the US Clean Air Act certification process, car manufacturers are required to disclose and explain any software (known as auxiliary emission control devices) that can alter how a vehicle emits air pollution, to EPA. Fiat Chrysler’s failure to do this means the company may be liable for civil penalties and an injunction for the violations. EPA is also investigating whether the auxiliary emission control devices constitute ‘defeat devices’, which were made infamous in the Volkswagen revelations and are illegal in the US as they actively circumvent emissions tests.

In a statement Fiat Chrysler said that it had proposed software changes to address EPA’s concerns and that it looks forward to meeting representatives of the new US administration to demonstrate that its engine management software does not constitute a defeat device.

A day after the news from the US it emerged that French prosecutors are investigating the French car manufacturer Renault over suspected cheating in emissions tests.

Greenpeace was predictably scathing about the news. ‘Air quality in cities across Europe continues to suffer as a result of these cars polluting far more than they are allowed to, and we know that diesel emissions are toxic to human health,’ said Areeba Hamid, a clean air campaigner at Greenpeace UK. ‘It’s time to embrace cleaner technologies: governments need to step in to end the sale of these cars and the motor industry needs to turn the page on this grubby chapter.’

‘Defeat devices’ came into the spotlight in September 2015 after it was revealed that Volkswagen diesel vehicles had been using them to cheat emissions tests. In January this year Volkswagen agreed to plead guilty to US criminal charges and pay a fine of $4.3bn to the US government. Six German Volkswagen employees were indicted. Volkswagen had previously reached a $15bn civil settlement with US environment authorities. 

Car manufacturers gaming efficiency and emissions tests is still an issue in Europe and further afield. Sustainable transport NGO Transport & Environment’s latest Mind the Gap report, released in January, indicates that new cars consume on average 42% more fuel on the road than advertised. The organisation, along with others, is calling for a revision of testing regimes for fuel economy and emissions that represents real-world driving conditions rather than those in a lab.

• The EPA has announced – a year before its own deadline to do so – that it will be keeping its greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and light trucks in place until 2025. The decision to not weaken the standards was made before the new US administration arrived and while President Barack Obama was still in office.