A lawsuit filed on Wednesday alleges that Ford Motor Co. installed software on some of its diesel trucks to aid in cheating on federal emissions tests, Reuters reports.
The lawsuit was filed in Michigan on behalf of truck owners by law firm Hagens Berman. It says that, in normal driving, Ford’s F-250 and F-350 Super Duty trucks released from two to five times the emissions allowed by federal regulations.
“Ford knew consumers would pay more for a powerful and efficient diesel option, and manipulated the emissions system to obtain the power and performance it wanted, while hiding illegal levels of pollution,” the law firm explained. Within the past year, the firm has also accused General Motors Co., Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and engine maker Cummins, Inc. of similar behavior.
Ford denied any wrongdoing.
“All Ford vehicles, including those with diesel engines, comply with all U.S. EPA and CARB emissions regulations. Ford vehicles do not have defeat devices. We will defend ourselves against these baseless claims,” said spokesman Daniel Barbosa.
German supplier Robert Bosch was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. Spokesperson Rene Ziegler said that Bosch takes such allegations “very seriously.”
“Bosch is cooperating with the continuing investigations in various jurisdictions, and is defending its interests in the litigation,” she added.
Volkswagen is of course the most recent automobile manufacturer found to have cheated on federal emissions testing, a fiasco that has cost them as much as $30 billion since Sept. 2015. Bosch also made multi-million dollar payments for its part in installing software that allowed the cheating.
