GM are the newest car makers to join the list of greedy companies who cheated on car emissions

General Motors (GM) are being accused of cheating on their car emissions by allegedly installing devices that have been likened to the ones used by Volkswagen (VW) in their diesel vehicles to pass diesel emissions testing.

The recent lawsuit says that over 705,000 GM cars are thought to be affected.

The 2011-2016 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra diesel pick-up trucks are suspected of carrying software that may be illegal, with both vehicles having the same “Duramax” engines.

Claims that the vehicles were miss-sold to consumers has led to lawyers asking GM to compensate the affected owners by way of refunds; paying the depreciated value in resold vehicles; and further compensation.

As well as the VW scandal stemming back to 2015, Daimler, owner of luxury brand Mercedes, have joined with Fiat Chrysler, Peugeot and Renault as car makers currently suspected of emissions cheating.

Denying liability

It seems GM are the latest to join the ranks of car makers who may have seemingly focused on maximising profits at the expense of consumer trust and public health. Hit with a lawsuit, GM do not intend on accepting any responsibility, as their spokesperson, Dan Flores stated that:

“…these claims are baseless and we will vigorously defend ourselves.”

Sound familiar?

Flores continued to say that the vehicles involved in the claims do comply with the Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board emissions standards.

Robert Bosch joins GM as a named defendant in the lawsuit as they are accused of developing defeat devices for GM cars. Bosch has already been in trouble for reportedly doing the same for VW, and have recently agreed to pay $328 million in settlements to VW owners in the U.S for their involvement in the scandal. Whilst Bosch continued to deny liability, we won’t be surprised if they offer another sum to settle this lawsuit…

GM shares already taken a hit

With GM’s reputation and money on the line, their shares have already dropped significantly, plummeting by 2.2% as it appears that nervousness and uncertainty hit investors. This is not surprising given that the VW scandal has seen the giant car manufacturer pay out over $20 billion so far in fines, settlements and environmental health investments in connection to their emissions scandal.

If GM are hit with similar costs, shareholders may suffer.

Lawsuit comes at a tough time for GM

This lawsuit comes at a tough time for GM as they recently paid out around $2.5 billion in fines and settlements over potentially defective and dangerous start switches. The fault was linked to 124 fatalities.

If GM are found by authorities to have cheated in their emissions testing, they could arguably be contributing to the early deaths of thousands globally by allowing their vehicles to emit dangerous levels of toxic pollutants into the air.