FCA announces certification of 2017 diesel vehicles
(July 29, 2017) AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has announced that it has received a certificate of conformity from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a conditional executive order from the Air Resources Board (ARB) of the State of California, permitting the production and sale of FCA US 2017 model-year light-duty Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles equipped with 3.0-liter diesel engines.
The agencies' approval was the product of several months of collaboration between FCA US and the EPA and ARB to address the agencies' concerns with respect to the diesel emissions control technologies employed on earlier model-year versions of these vehicles.
The 2017 updates include modified emissions software calibrations, with no required hardware changes, and FCA US expects that the modified calibrations will have no effect on the stated fuel economy or the performance of these vehicles.
FCA US intends to continue to work closely with the agencies and seek their permission to use a version of the modified software to update the emissions control systems in the 2014-2016 model-year Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ram 1500 diesel vehicles that were the subject of the Notices of Violation issued by EPA and ARB in January 2017.
FCA US believes that the modified software can address the agencies' concerns as to the emissions performance of those vehicles.
"The approvals announced Friday represent a significant step toward resolving the issues raised by EPA and ARB," said Sergio Marchionne, chief executive officer of FCA US and FCA. "We appreciate the efforts of the agencies in working with us to achieve this milestone. We are anxious to build on this progress to make appropriate updates to the emissions control software in our earlier model-year vehicles."