Toronto, Ontario — General Motors (GM) will pay nearly $146 million in fines to the United States federal government due to 5.9 million older vehicles not complying with emissions and fuel economy standards.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in a statement last week, certain GM vehicles from the 2012 to 2018 model years did not comply with federal fuel economy requirements.
Autoblog noted that the fine comes after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said its testing showed that GM pickup trucks and SUVs from the outlined years emit 10 percent more carbon dioxide on average than GM’s initial compliance testing claimed.
The EPA further outlined that the vehicles in question will remain on the road and cannot be repaired. Autoblog also noted that GM said in a statement that it complied with all regulations in pollution and mileage certifications of its vehicles. The company said it is not admitting to any wrongdoing or that it did not comply with the Clean Air Act.
The enforcement action involves approximately 4.6 million full-size pickups and SUVs and approximately 1.3 million midsize SUVs. Affected models specifically include the Chevy Tahoe, Cadillac Escalade and Chevy Silverado. Around 40 variations of GM vehicles are covered.
An EPA spokesperson said that the violations were unintentional, but that GM will be forced to give up credits used to ensure that manufacturers’ greenhouse gas emissions are below the fleet standard for emissions that apply for that model year.
