WASHINGTON (AP) – General Motors will pay nearly $146 million in fines to the federal government because 5.9 million of its older vehicles do not meet emissions and fuel economy standards.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement Wednesday that certain GM vehicles from 2012 to 2018 were not in compliance with federal rules. fuel economy Requests.
The penalty comes after the Environmental Protection Agency said its testing showed GM trucks and SUVs emit over 10% more carbon dioxide on average than GM’s original compliance testing claimed.
The EPA says the vehicles will remain on the road and cannot be repaired. GM vehicles consume at least 10% more fuel on average than the numbers on the window stickers say, but the company will not be required to reduce the miles per gallon on the stickers, the EPA said.
“Our investigation has achieved accountability and supports an important program that reduces air pollution and protects communities across the country,” said EPA Administrator Michael Regan.
GM said in a statement that it was in compliance with all regulations for the emissions and mileage certification of its vehicles. The company said it is not admitting any wrongdoing or failing to comply with the Clean Air Act.
The problem stems from a change in testing procedures that the EPA put in place in 2016, GM spokesman Bill Grotz said.
Owners should not take any action because there is no defect in the vehicles, Grotz said.
“We believe this voluntary action is the best course of action to resolve outstanding issues with the federal government,” he said.
The enforcement action involves about 4.6 million full-size pickup trucks and SUVs and about 1.3 million midsize SUVs, the EPA said. Affected models include the Chevy Tahoe, Cadillac Escalade and Chevy Silverado. About 40 variations of GM vehicles are covered.
GM will be forced to give up credits used to ensure manufacturers’ greenhouse gas emissions are below the fleet emissions standard that applies for that model year, the EPA said. In a quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, GM said it expects the total cost to settle the case to be $490 million.
Because GM agreed to address the excess emissions, the EPA said it was not necessary to make a formal determination about the causes of the excess pollution.
But David Cooke, senior auto analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists, questioned how GM could not have known the pollution exceeded the initial test by more than 10% because the problem was so widespread in so many vehicles. different. “You just don’t make more than 10% rounding error,” he said.
Dan Becker, director of the Climate Safe Transportation Campaign for the environmental group Center for Biological Diversity, said GM’s violations “show why automakers can’t be trusted to protect our air and our health and why we need strong regulations.” of pollution. Supreme Court, watch out!”
In similar pollution cases in the past, automakers have been fined under the Clean Air Act for such violations, and the Justice Department usually gets involved, Cooke said. Hyundai and Kia, for example, faced Justice Department action in a similar case.
The Justice Department declined to comment, and GM said the settlement resolves all government claims.
Cooke said it’s possible GM owners could sue the company because they’re getting lower gas mileage than advertised.
In 2014, Hyundai and Kia entered into a solution in which they had to pay a $100 million civil penalty to end a two-year investigation into overstating gas mileage on the window stickers of 1.2 million vehicles.
Korean automakers have denied allegations that they broke the law. Hyundai blamed the inflated mileage on a frank misinterpretation of the EPA’s complex rules governing testing.
In 2015, Volkswagen admitted to deliberately rigging nearly half a million cars to beat smog tests in the US.
The German company admitted it deliberately installed software programmed to “defeat” emissions testing, enabling cars to drive more forcefully on the road, emitting up to 40 times the legal pollution limit. The scandal cost Volkswagen more than $30 billion in fines and restitution and sent two US executives to prison.
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Krisher reported from Detroit.