Overview

• Cummins Inc. has been ordered to recall and repair over 600,000 Ram trucks, equipped with its diesel engines, as part of a settlement for violating the Clean Air Act and California law.
• The company is accused of using software 'defeat devices' that circumvented emissions testing and certification requirements, leading to higher pollution during normal operations.
• The settlement includes a $1.675 billion civil penalty, the largest ever assessed in a Clean Air Act case, and an additional $325 million for pollution remedies, totaling over $2 billion.
• Cummins must also extend the warranty period for certain parts in the repaired vehicles, fund projects to mitigate excess ozone-creating nitrogen oxides emitted from the vehicles, and employ new internal procedures to prevent future emissions cheating.
• The settlement follows several other notable emissions cheating cases in the auto industry, including Volkswagen's Dieselgate scandal, Fiat Chrysler's emission test cheating, and Daimler's violations of the Clean Air Act.