Stellantis, Chrysler’s parent company, has paid $190.7 million in civil penalties for not meeting US fuel economy standards for 2019 and 2020. According to government documents seen by Reuters, an additional $459.7 million in penalties remains outstanding.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), responsible for the Corporate Average Fuel Economy program, disclosed these payments on a government website.
This highlights the substantial costs automakers face to comply with US fuel regulations despite their significant investments in electric vehicles.
Also read: Stellantis and California reach an agreement on vehicle emissions
Stellantis clarified that the penalties were accrued before its formation in 2021.
They emphasized that these penalties do not reflect the company’s current trajectory, highlighting their commitment to investing over 50 billion euros ($54.39 billion) globally towards developing electric vehicles, including introducing two dozen EV models in the U.S. market by 2030.
Both Stellantis and the NHTSA confirmed Reuters’ calculation of the outstanding penalties on Friday.
In 2023, the Italian-American automaker paid $235.5 million for fuel economy penalties related to the 2018 and 2019 model years, and $156.6 million for the 2016 and 2017 model years, setting new records for such payments.
Last year, the NHTSA projected that its proposal to increase fuel economy standards until 2032 would result in $14 billion in fines for the industry over five years. This included estimated fines of $6.5 billion for General Motors, $3 billion for Stellantis, and $1 billion for Ford Motor.
However, according to the rules finalized last month, the entire auto industry is anticipated to collectively face only $1.83 billion in fines from 2027 to 2031, and these fines could potentially be reduced to zero, as stated by the NHTSA.
