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Right here we go once more. The scandal that we dubbed VW’s Soiled Diesel Debacle opened quite a lot of of us’ eyes to the true priorities of automakers and different firms. As reported in these pages, VW was really sorry that it acquired caught, and carried out a number of acts of contrition—it purchased again a fraction of the faulty vehicles, paid round $14 billion in a client class-action settlement, and established the Electrify America charging community.
A number of different automakers had been concerned, or suspected of being concerned, in comparable frauds.
The most recent company shoe to drop belongs to Cummins, greatest often known as a maker of diesel engines for medium- and heavy-duty autos.
Cummins reached an settlement in precept with the US Justice Division and the state of California beneath which the engine producer can pay a $1.6-billion penalty to settle claims that it violated the Clear Air Act by putting in defeat units on a whole lot of hundreds of engines. The penalty can be the biggest ever beneath the Clear Air Act, and the second largest environmental penalty in US historical past.
Defeat units include {hardware} and/or software program that bypass air pollution sensors, permitting autos to go emissions inspections whereas nonetheless emitting excessive ranges of smog-causing pollution similar to nitrogen oxide.
The Justice Division has accused Cummins of putting in defeat units on 630,000 mannequin 12 months 2013 to 2019 RAM 2500 and 3500 pickup truck engines. The corporate can also be alleged to have secretly put in auxiliary emission management units on 330,000 mannequin 12 months 2019 to 2023 RAM 2500 and 3500 pickup truck engines.
Stellantis will recall all of the vehicles in query, and a spokesman for Cummins mentioned that the software program will probably be recalibrated to make sure that the autos are absolutely compliant with federal emissions legislation.
Cummins mentioned that it had “seen no proof that anybody acted in unhealthy religion and doesn’t admit wrongdoing.” The corporate mentioned it has “cooperated absolutely with the related regulators [and] already addressed lots of the points concerned. Cummins carried out an intensive inside assessment and labored collaboratively with the regulators for greater than 4 years.”
“EPA is on the job due to what was realized by the Volkswagen scandal, and their oversight has elevated considerably,” mentioned Luke Tonachel, an skilled on clear automobile coverage on the Pure Sources Protection Council. “Our authorities must proceed to be vigilant to make sure dishonest doesn’t proceed.”
Sources: Reuters, New York Instances
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