FCA Agrees to Settlement Talks with U.S. Diesel Owners

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV has agreed to begin talks next month about compensating U.S. owners of diesel-powered vehicles that emit too much pollution, Reuters reports.

The carmaker faces multiple consumer lawsuits over the issue, which arose in the wake of Volkswagen AG’s diesel cheating scandal.

Last May the U.S. Dept. of Justice sued FCA, claiming the company had used illegal software in 104,000 vehicles to evade emission rules. FCA has repeatedly denied any deliberate attempt to circumvent the standards.

Compensation expert Ken Feinberg, who was appointed two months ago to advise FCA, says settlement talks with owners’ attorneys will begin on Oct. 12 in Washington, D.C. He says Robert Bosch GmbH, which provides emission control software, will participate in the talks, but the Justice Dept. won’t. Feinberg previously managed the General Motors Co. fund to compensate victims of its defective ignition switches.

FCA says it believes it can fix the 2014-2016-era diesels by upgrading their emission controls. the company intends to use the same software approved for use in the company’s 2017 diesel models.