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FCA nears plea deal in diesel emissions fraud probe

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is nearing an agreement to plead guilty to criminal conduct to resolve a multiyear emissions fraud probe surrounding Ram pickup trucks and Jeep sport-utility vehicles with diesel engines, people familiar with the matter said. FCA lawyers and U.S. Justice Department officials are brokering a plea deal that could be unveiled in coming weeks and include financial penalties totaling between $250 million and $300 million, the people said. Such a resolution with FCA, which is now part of Stellantis NV, would come more than four years after Volkswagen AG pleaded guilty to criminal charges  to resolve its own diesel-emissions scandal involving nearly 600,000 vehicles.It would also mark the final significant chapter in the government crackdown on automakers' emissions practices that was precipitated by Volkswagen's deception, which became known as "Dieselgate." The FCA investigation focuses on roughly 100,000 diesel-powered vehicles that allegedly evaded emissions requirements. The plea negotiations are fluid and some terms, including the size of any financial penalties, could change as discussions continue, the people said. Justice Department officials are preparing paperwork that will likely be negotiated with FCA to finalize the plea deal, which could result in changes and also present an outside chance for the agreement to fall apart, the people said. A plea agreement would cap a series of investigations dating back to 2015 surrounding diesel-powered vehicles in FCA's U.S. lineup. The current criminal investigation targets the U.S unit of the Italian-American automaker. The affected vehicles span model years 2014 to 2016. Representatives for FCA parent Stellantis and the Justice Department declined to comment. The scandals over emissions cheating tarnished diesel technology and accelerated the industry's shift to electric vehicles. The European automakers had promoted "clean diesel" technology as a way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and ease a transition to an all-electric future. When regulators on both sides of the Atlantic uncovered evidence that diesel vehicles polluted far more in real world driving, the argument for a slower transition to battery electric vehicles was shredded. Now, automakers are accelerating battery electric vehicle development to comply with tougher, post-Dieselgate pollution standards.

US expands probe into ZF-TRW airbag failure-to-deploy to 12.3 million vehicles

DETROIT — U.S. auto safety regulators have expanded an investigation into malfunctioning airbag controls to include 12.3 million vehicles because the bags may not inflate in a crash. The problem could be responsible for as many as eight deaths. Vehicles made by Toyota, Honda, Kia, Hyundai, Mitsubishi and Fiat Chrysler from the 2010 through 2019 model years are included in the probe, which was revealed Tuesday in documents posted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It involves airbag control units made by ZF-TRW that were installed in the vehicles. The control units can fail in a crash, possibly because of unwanted electrical signals produced by the crash itself that can disable an air bag control circuit housed in the passenger compartment, according to NHTSA documents. The electrical signals can damage the control circuit, the documents say. ZF, a German auto parts maker which acquired TRW Automotive in 2015, said in a statement that it's committed to safety and is cooperating with NHTSA and automakers in the investigation. The case is another in a long list of problems with auto industry airbags, including faulty and potentially deadly Takata airbag inflators. At least 24 people have been killed worldwide and more than 200 injured by the inflators, which can explode with too much force and hurl dangerous shrapnel into the passenger cabin. The inflators touched off the largest series of automotive recalls in U.S. history involving with as many as 70 million inflators to be recalled by the end of next year. About 100 million inflators are to be recalled worldwide. On April 19, NHTSA upgraded the ZF-TRW probe from a preliminary evaluation to an engineering analysis, which is a step closer toward seeking recalls. So far, only Hyundai and Kia and Fiat Chrysler have issued recalls in the case. Four deaths that may have been caused by the problem were reported in Hyundai-Kia vehicles and three in Fiat Chrysler automobiles. NHTSA opened an investigation in March of 2017 involving the TRW parts in Hyundais and Kias. The upgrade came after investigators found two recent serious crashes involving 2018 and 2019 Toyota Corollas in which the airbags did not inflate. One person was killed. Jason Levine, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, a nonprofit consumer group, said the ZF-TRW case shows the auto industry thus far has learned very little from Takata.

Ferrari borrows $2.6 billion to finance FCA spinoff

Ferrari announced Monday that it is borrowing about $2.6 billion to finance its spinoff from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Here's how it breaks down: Ferrari NV, the automaker's parent company based in the Netherlands, is taking out loans totaling 2.5 billion euros. That's equivalent to $2.64 billion at current exchange rates, and is divided between a term loan of $2.12 billion and a revolving credit facility of $529 million. The larger term loan "will be used to refinance indebtedness owing to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles," among other purposes. That ought to constitute the lion's share of the $2.38 billion which the Prancing Horse marque was, according to reports last year, slated to pay its current parent company in order to help FCA fund its ambitious growth plans. The separate line of credit is earmarked "to be used from time to time for general corporate and working capital purposes of the Ferrari group." Though Ferrari is not expected to take any other Fiat Chrysler properties with it, the "group" in this case would include its various financial services and distribution arms around the world that may have been separately incorporated. As noted in the statement below, the financial arrangement "represents a further step towards the separation of Ferrari from the FCA Group," following the separate stock issues from both companies as independent from each other. FERRARI N.V. SIGNS ˆ2.5 BILLION SYNDICATED CREDIT FACILITY Ferrari N.V. (NYSE: RACE) ("Ferrari") announced today that it has entered into a ˆ2.5 billion syndicated loan facility with a group of ten bookrunner banks. The facility comprises a bridge loan (the "Bridge Loan") and a term loan (the "Term Loan") of ˆ2 billion in aggregate and a revolving credit facility of ˆ500 million (the "RCF"). Proceeds of the Bridge Loan and Term Loan will be used to refinance indebtedness owing to Fiat Chrysler AutomobilesN.V. (NYSE: FCAU) ("FCA") and other indebtedness and for other general corporate purposes. Proceeds of the RCF may be used from time to time for general corporate and working capital purposes of the Ferrari group. The Bridge Loan has a 12 month maturity with an option for Ferrari to extend once for a six-month period. Ferrari intends to refinance the Bridge Loan prior to its maturity with longer term debt, including through capital markets or other financing transactions. The Term Loan, which comprises a majority of the total facility, and the RCF each have a maturity of five years.