Cummins has been supplying Stellantis with diesel engines in the Ram bakkie since 1989. Image: Stellantis
US engine maker Cummins Inc has agreed to pay $1.67-billion (R30.6-billion) to settle claims it installed devices to defeat emissions controls in hundreds of thousands of bakkie engines, according to the US Justice Department.
The penalty is the largest civil fine ever for a violation of the Clean Air Act, which requires vehicle and engine manufacturers to comply with emissions standards, the department said.
Cummins, based in Columbus, Indiana, was accused of installing defeat devices in the engines – parts or software that can bypass emissions controls or render them inoperative.
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Defeat devices and auxiliary emission control devices were allegedly installed on nearly one million engines produced since 2013 for Ram bakkies, which are made by Stellantis.
Stellantis referred questions about the matter to Cummins, which said the “company has seen no evidence that anyone acted in bad faith and does not admit wrongdoing,” according to a company statement.
Cummins said it had already recalled 2019 Ram 2500 and 3500 and initiated a recall for other vehicles with the devices.
The company expects to incur one-time costs of $2-billion (R36.7-billion) for the settlements, which must receive court approval.
Cummins “looks forward to obtaining certainty as it concludes this lengthy matter,” the company said.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the US Justice Department “is committed to vigorously enforcing the environmental laws,” describing the Cummins devices as having “a significant and harmful impact on people’s health and safety.”
“Our preliminary estimates suggest that defeat devices on some Cummins engines have caused them to produce thousands of tons of excess emissions of nitrogen oxides,” he said.
“The cascading effect of those pollutants can, over long-term exposure, lead to breathing issues like asthma and respiratory infections.”
German automaker Volkswagen was found by the US Environmental Protection Agency in 2015 to have installed emissions control-defying software in diesel-powered cars in a scandal which came to be known as “Dieselgate.”
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