Feds fine GM nearly $146M for high car emissions

General Motors will have to pay millions of dollars in penalties after the Environmental Protection Agency found that several trucks and SUVs emit more carbon dioxide than the company’s testing claimed.

The EPA said that GM will have to pay nearly $146 million in fines after 5.9 million cars don’t comply with federal standards. The company will also retire millions of credits that it has received for meeting federal guidelines. The agreement will cancel credits for 50 million metric tons of greenhouse gases and about 30.6 million in gas mileage credits from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, The Washington Post reported.

Some, not all, GM pickups and SUVs from the 2012 through 2018 model years can emit 10% more carbon dioxide on average than what GM documented. The vehicles cannot be fixed but can remain on the roads, but will, according to the EPA, consume at least 10% more fuel than estimated on the vehicles’ window stickers, which the company will not be required to update, The Associated Press reported.

The vehicles that the EPA said did not meet standards can be found on the agency’s website.

GM said that it complied with all pollution and mileage certifications and is not admitting any wrongdoing. The company also said that it is not admitting to failing to comply with the Clean Air Act, the AP reported. Instead, the issue comes from a change in testing procedures the EPA made in 2016.

“We believe this is the best course of action to swiftly resolve outstanding issues with the federal government regarding this matter,” GM spokesperson Bill Grotz told The Washington Post in an email. “GM remains committed to reducing auto emissions and working toward achieving the Administration’s fleet electrification goals.”

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