Nearly one million pickup trucks are allegedly equipped with so-called defeat devices, a claim made by Indiana-based Cummins, which has denied any wrongdoing.
A $1.675 billion fine has been agreed to by engine maker Cummins Inc. for allegedly placing “defeat devices” on about a million pickup vehicles in order to evade emissions testing. The Justice Department announced on Friday that it is the biggest civil fine ever assessed under the Clean Air Act.
According to the agency, defeat devices are made to “bypass, defeat, or render inoperative emissions controls such as emission sensors and onboard computers.”
According to the government, Cummins is suspected of placing defeat devices or comparable technology on hundreds of thousands of RAM pickup trucks between 2013 and 2023.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland stated in a statement that “the types of devices we allege Cummins installed in its engines to cheat federal environmental laws have a significant and harmful impact on people’s health and safety.” The devices would have produced thousands of tonnes of excess emissions of nitrogen oxides, which are toxic to humans when inhaled.
Additionally, Cummins consented to a settlement with the California Air Resources Board.
Cummins issued a statement in which it denied any misconduct and said it did not have any proof that any of its workers had behaved dishonestly. A request for comment from Stellantis, the company that owns the RAM truck brand, was not immediately answered.
The civil penalty imposed on Friday would be greater than the $1.45 billion Volkswagen paid in 2017 following its admission that it had installed defeat devices on 11 million vehicles globally. With criminal fines included, Volkswagen ultimately paid more than $20 billion.
In August 2022, the Justice Department’s multiyear criminal fraud investigation over diesel emissions was settled after Fiat Chrysler, now known as Stellantis, paid close to $300 million.
In early 2023, Cummins, an Indiana-based company, employed 73,600 people. During Friday’s trading, the price of its shares fell by almost 3%.
The Cummins deal is the most recent attack in the US regulators’ war against emission defeat devices, and it needs to be approved by a court.
The Environmental Protection Agency resolved 172 civil enforcement actions involving the devices between fiscal years 2020 and 2023, with a total of $55.5 million in civil penalties; additionally, 17 criminal prosecutions resulted in an additional $7.2 million in penalties and 54 months of imprisonment.
