CARS.COM — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced Friday that it received EPA certification and a "conditional executive order" from California regulators to sell two 2017 model-year vehicles — the Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV and Ram 1500 pickup truck — equipped with the automaker's diesel 3.0-liter V-6. The approvals follow several months' collaboration between FCA and regulators, the automaker said. Both 2017 model-year diesels will have updated emissions calibrations but no hardware changes, and FCA claims no changes in gas mileage or performance.
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Officials have thus far barred FCA from selling the two models amid scrutiny over allegations that the engines had illegal software that allowed excess emissions. FCA sold diesel versions of the Grand Cherokee and Ram 1500 during the 2014-16 model years, and it wants to outfit those models with a version of the software modification if regulators approve. Some 100,000 such cars are on the road today, FCA told Cars.com in May.
The EPA filed a violation notice in January for FCA's diesel V-6. FCA responded at the time that its emissions controls were "properly justified" and thus not defeat devices. Such devices, which are illegal, are at the heart of Volkswagen's massive diesel scandal.
FCA said Friday that it thinks the software modifications can address regulators' concerns over the emissions performance for the older models. FCA began pushing for emissions certification on its 2017 diesel models with the updated calibrations more than two months ago. Vehicles cannot be sold in the U.S. unless regulators certify their emissions, but gasoline versions of the Grand Cherokee and Ram 1500 are unaffected.
A spokesperson for the EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
