Stellantis is once again in the spotlight, this time in the very country where it is legally headquartered: the Netherlands. Recently, an independent Dutch foundation filed a class action lawsuit against the company, alleging illegal activities related to manipulated emissions data.
Is this a new Dieselgate? Not exactly. The lawsuit is tied to events from nearly a decade ago, the original Dieselgate scandal that rocked Volkswagen and the global automotive industry. Stellantis is involved due to its predecessor, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), the entity truly at fault, which no longer exists as an independent company.
Stellantis and Shadows from the Past
Stellantis was formed in 2021 through the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and Peugeot Société Anonyme (PSA). It appears that FCA is the source of Stellantis’ current legal woes. The Dutch non-profit foundation, Fiat Chrysler Investors Recovery Stichting, claims that FCA failed to disclose the installation of illegal software in its vehicles, designed to mask the true emissions output. This software was allegedly used between 2014 and 2017.
The foundation argues that this lack of disclosure caused significant financial harm to investors who bought or held Fiat Chrysler shares during that period. The law firm Scott+Scott, representing the foundation, stated that investors eligible to join the lawsuit include those who purchased or held Fiat Chrysler shares on the Milan Stock Exchange between October 2014 and May 2017.
Despite the serious nature of the allegations, Stellantis has dismissed the claims as “without merit” and has vowed to mount a strong defense in court. According to Jan-Willem De Jong, a partner at Scott+Scott, the case was submitted to the District Court of North Holland on August 28, with Stellantis being notified a day earlier on August 27. The court is expected to determine the next steps on December 4.
FCA’s Past Mistakes
This isn’t the first time Fiat Chrysler has faced legal trouble related to emissions. In 2022, FCA US LLC, a U.S.-based subsidiary of Stellantis, pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy as part of a multi-year investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into diesel emissions fraud.
Moreover, both FCA and PSA, along with Opel (another Stellantis brand), are still under investigation in Europe for their roles in the original Dieselgate scandal that first implicated Volkswagen. The shadow of these past actions continues to loom over Stellantis, highlighting the long-lasting impact of emissions-related controversies on the automotive industry.
