FCA Says U.S. Justice Dept., SEC, States Have Joined Diesel Probe

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV says an investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency into possible diesel emission violations is being joined by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dept. of Justice and several state attorneys general.

FCA disclosed the “various inquires, subpoenas and requests” for information in a regulatory filing. In January, EPA accused the company of using illegal software in 104,000 diesel-powered Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs and Ram 1500 pickup trucks.

The agency says FCA violated the Clean Air Act by failing to report the software to regulators. EPA is now trying to determine whether the technology was installed to deliberately evade emission tests.

FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne dismisses the latter allegation as “unadulterated hogwash.”

Last May a media report said Germany’s federal motor vehicle agency, KBA, discovered software in one of FCA’s diesel-powered Fiat cars that shut down the vehicle’s pollution control system two minutes after detecting the end of an emission test. In January the U.K.’s Dept. of Transport launched its own investigation into the emission controls used in diesel-powered Jeep Grand Cherokees.