Guide ourselves

The fine, first reported by Reuters, represents the second year in a row the automaker has faced such a fine (it was hit with a $ 77.3 million fine for the 2016 model year). It comes as the Federal government projects an increasing Gulf between fuel economy standards and what the auto industry is actually achieving as consumers continue to turn to larger vehicles.

An FCA spokesman confirmed the fine but said the payment “will not have a material impact” on the company’s business. The company said in a statement that it “continues to support and deliver year-on-year fuel-economy improvements” in a number of vehicles and noted its plans to launch a plug-in hybrid Jeep Wrangler next year.

“In addition, we remain committed to investing $ 9.97 billion (9 billion euros) through 2022 to develop a vehicle architecture that will accommodate more than 30 electrified plates,” the FCA said.

Subtle information was included in the release of Corporate average fuel economy compliance solutions for the 2017 model year by the National highway traffic safety administration.

NHTSA noted that 13 of the 18 car manufacturers in the U.S. market did not meet standards for the 2017 model year, compared with 12 of the 20 for the 2016 model year. In 2016, the fleet was half miles per gallon for 32.8 miles per gallon fuel economy standards. The following year, it was 1.5 mpg over the 33.8 mpg standard.

“NHTSA projections show that more manufacturers are failing to comply in model years 2018 and 2019, and potential penalties for automakers that are passed on to consumers are expected to continue to rise,” the Agency said.

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The questions come as the trump administration worked to back away from strict fuel economy standards provided during the Obama administration, an effort blasted by environmental and consumer advocates. The administration is also trying to overturn California’s authority to continue to set exhaust emissions standards, but it faces a lawsuit to prevent that from happening from 23 States, including Michigan. 

The Alliance of car manufacturers, a trade group representing FCA, General Motors, Ford, Toyota and others, says the industry has invested billions of dollars to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions and has a stake in getting new cars from dealer lots of consumer garages.

“The Alliance continues to advocate for raising standards that are achievable and reflect market realities,” the Alliance said in a statement.

contact Eric D. Lawrence: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: Serialelement.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free press: FCA must pay nearly $ 80M for lack of Federal fuel economy standards in ’17

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