GM will pay $146M in federal penalties because 5.9 million older vehicles emit excess carbon dioxide

WASHINGTON — General Motors will pay nearly $146 million in penalties to the federal government because 5.9 million of its older vehicles don’t comply with emissions and fuel economy standards.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement Wednesday that certain GM vehicles from the 2012 through 2018 model years didn’t comply with federal fuel economy requirements.

The fine comes after the Environmental Protection Agency said its testing showed the GM pickups and SUVs emit 10% more carbon dioxide on average than GM’s initial compliance testing claimed.

The EPA says the vehicles will remain on the road and cannot be repaired.

GM said in a statement that it complied with all regulations in pollution and mileage certification of its vehicles. The company said it is not admitting to any wrongdoing or that it didn’t comply with the Clean Air Act.

The enforcement action involves about 4.6 million full-size pickups and SUVs and about 1.3 million midsize SUVs, the EPA said. The affected models include the Chevy Tahoe, Cadillac Escalade and Chevy Silverado.

GM will be forced to give up “credits” used to ensure that manufacturers’ greenhouse gas emissions are below the fleet standard for emissions that applies for that model year.

An EPA spokesman said the violations were unintentional.