The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration fined General Motors and Stellantis $363 million for not meeting Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, according to documents seen by Reuters.
Specifically, NHTSA penalized Stellantis for $235.5 million for vehicles from the 2018 and 2019 model years. Motor1.com reached out to the automaker for a comment on this situation:
“This reflects past performance recorded before the formation of Stellantis, and is not indicative of the Company’s direction. Stellantis is investing $35 billion to develop electrified vehicles and related software to accommodate a global product offensive that includes the launch of 25 U.S.-market BEVs by 2030. Further, we are aspiring to a carbon-neutral future with our commitment to carbon net-zero status by 2038,” a spokesperson said.
The EVs coming from Stellantis include the Ram 1500 Rev pickup and Dodge Charger Daytona muscle car.
NHTSA hit GM with a $128.2 million fine for models from the 2016 and 2017 model years. Motor1.com also reached out to the company for a comment, and we received the following statement:
“General Motors is committed to a zero-emissions, all-electric future and has charted a path to eliminate tailpipe emissions from new light-duty vehicles by 2035.
“As we work towards the goal of zero-emissions future, we may use a combination of credits from prior model years, expected credits from future model years, credits obtained from other manufacturers, and payment of civil penalties to comply with increasingly stringent CAFE regulations, a spokesperson said.
Reuters did not list the specific vehicles that earned the automaker the fines for either company.
GM also has big plans for adding more EVs to its lineup. The company has supply deals to have raw materials to build 5 million electric models between 2022 and 2030. The new products include three additional offerings from Cadillac. Chevy is launching the Silverado EV, Blazer EV, and Equinox EV.
This was the first time in three years that NHTSA collected fuel economy fines, Reuters reported. GM had never needed to pay them before. Stellantis previously shelled out $156.5 million for vehicles from the 2016 and 2017 model years.
The Corporate Average Fuel Economy penalty for the 2019 to 2021 model years is $14 for every 0.1 mile per gallon off of the mandated figure, and that’s multiplied by the amount of those vehicles the company sold. The fine rises to $15 for 2022 products.
