Hill Announces Settlements With Fiat Chrysler and Bosch
Attorney General Curtis Hill announced today that Indiana has reached settlements with Fiat Chrysler and supplier Robert Bosch. The settlements call for combined civil-penalty payments of $2.5 million to Indiana and more than $171 million to 52 jurisdictions across the country.
Following a nearly two-year investigation it was revealed that Fiat Chrysler installed unlawful “defeat device” software and unnamed Auxiliary Emissions Control Devices in 1,645 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Ram 1500 diesel vehicles, with model years between 2014-16, that the company sold in Indiana.
The Attorney General’s Office also found that among other offenses, Fiat Chrysler cheated on federal and state emissions tests by calibrating the vehicles’ software to hide that the vehicles emitted levels of toxic nitrogen oxides that were higher than regulation.
In civil penalties under Indiana’s consumer protection laws for unfairly marketing, selling and leasing the vehicles to consumers, the settlement insists that Fiat Chrysler to pay Indiana $1,028,125.
Bosch, the multinational engineering company and supplier to the global automotive industry, was found to have programed the illegal emissions “defeat device” software used by both Fiat Chrysler and Volkswagen in their diesel vehicles, will pay Indiana $1,490,940 in consumer and environmental civil penalties.
Bosch assisted with the execution of the “defeat device” software in more than 600,000 Volkswagen and Fiat Chrysler vehicles over a period that spanned more than ten years.
Attorney General Hill found that Bosch continued to assist these customers as they implemented the “defeat devices” and concealed their misconduct from regulators and the public. Going forward, Bosch will adhere to stricter regulations as part of the settlement.
“Whenever businesses take unfair advantage of Hoosier consumers or otherwise disregard Indiana state laws, they should anticipate that our office will come after them hard for whatever damages they have done,” Attorney General Hill said in a news release. “This settlement represents the fruits of such labor. We will continue to work hard every day to protect consumers and defend the rule of law.”