Cummins to Pay $1.7 Billion for Emissions Cheating Devices on Ram Pickups

Cummins Inc. allegedly provided Stellantis nearly 1 million diesel engines for Ram Heavy Duty pickups, all equipped with features that reported fake emissions readings, the U.S. Department of Justice has alleged. On Friday, the diesel company agreed to a $1.7 billion settlement to close that case, the largest ever for a Clean Air Act violation.

“The types of devices we allege that Cummins installed in its engines to cheat federal environmental laws have a significant and harmful impact on people’s health and safety,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said. “Our preliminary estimates suggest that defeat devices on some Cummins engines have caused them to produce thousands of tons of excess emissions of nitrogen oxides.”

For the full story about Cummins settlement, please read Cummins agrees to record penalty for emissions defeat devices from Trailer Body Builders, a publication owned by IndustryWeek publisher Endeavor Business Media. 

And, for context, take a look at this 2016 story from IndustryWeek about Volkswagen's $15 billion settlement with regulators for installing diesel cheat devices on its vehicles. While the VW case was far more expensive (so far) than what Cummins has agreed to pay, the bulk of that agreement was for the company to buy back vehicles from owners and to invest in zero-emissions vehicles. Very little of that huge sum was in fines.