The charges are the direct fallout from the sweeping diesel emissions scandal that engulfed Volkswagen after the German automaker admitted in September 2015 that it had installed cheating software on 11 million vehicles, including 600,000 in the United States. VW’s software made its diesel vehicles run cleaner during emissions testing, but shut off those controls during normal driving, allowing the cars to emit Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) exhaust well beyond legal limits. The agency has not determined whether the software is an illegal “defeat device” designed to circumvent testing, as in the case of Volkswagen. (The diesel vehicles are equipped with advanced technology, including selective catalytic reduction (SCR), which injects an ammonia-based fluid directly into the exhaust system to reduce NOx.) Fiat Chrysler could face fines of about $44,000 per vehicle if it is proven that it violated emissions rules, or roughly $4.6 billion.

Source: Forbes January 12, 2017 18:22 UTC