(April 26) In a financial filing today Ford Motors admitted that it was under investigation by the US Department of Justice in regard to its internal emission testing practice. Ford said the investigation was still in its preliminary stages.
Investigation has nothing to do with "defeat devices"
The problem is not the use of defeat devices or any software meant to deceive regulators as happened in Volkswagen's Dieselgate scandal. Ford said: “The Department of Justice contacted us earlier this month to let us know that they had opened a criminal investigation. Ford is fully cooperating with the government, and we’ll keep them posted on what we’re finding through our investigation and technical review.”
Ford started its own investigation earlier
Ford had earlier this February started its own investigation into its emissions testing practices. It did so after employees themselves raised concerns about potential consistency problems. The problem is that the company may have been wrongly calculating "road load" or measurements of forces on a car when it is traveling at a constant speed on smooth, flat ground. Getting a lower figure would lead to the automaker thinking vehicles got better fuel economy and emitted less pollution than they actually did.
The company hired the law firm Sidley Austin to perform the investigation. It also alerted the Environment Protection Agency as to its actions. The company said it is also working with the California Air Resources Board to solve any problems that could exist.
Kim Pittel, Ford vice-president for sustainability, environment, and safety engineering said that so far the investigation had not indicated that the company had reporter incorrect data to regulators or to consumers. In a telephone interview he said: “We’re early days into the investigation. But there has been no determination that this affected fuel economy labels or emissions certification.”
Ford has had trouble overstating fuel efficiency in the past
In 2013 and 2014 Ford lowered the gas mileage ratings on several hybrid cars as it had overstated their efficiency from between one to seven miles per gallon.
Other automakers also under investigation
Other companies such as Daimler and Fiat Chrysler are also reported to be under criminal investigation regarding emissions but both are alleged to have used defeat devices to have some diesel cars appear cleaner to regulators than they actually were.
Previously published in Digital Journal
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