Diesel enginemaker agrees to nearly $2 billion in fines with feds and California

Enlarge (credit: Cummins)

Cummins, which makes diesel engines for trucks, among other products, will pay a record Clean Air Act civil penalty of $1.675 billion in a lawsuit brought by the US Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the California Air Resources Board.

Like Volkswagen before it, Cummins was found to have fitted engines—in this case, diesel engines installed in more than 630,000 Ram 2500 and Ram 3500 pickup trucks built between 2013–2019—with illegal "defeat device" software that allowed the truck engines to pass emissions tests but then emit much more pollution while in operation. The DOJ said it also found undisclosed emissions software on an additional 330,000 trucks built between 2019 and 2023.

Cummins must recall and repair the non-compliant engine software, extend the warranty period for some parts of those powertrains, fund and develop ways to reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx) from engine emissions, and implement procedures to prevent cheating in the future.