FCA pledged to “cooperate fully” with the probes by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department which, according to Bloomberg, are examining whether the carmaker violated U.S. securities laws.
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The company said in an emailed statement to MLive that it’s cooperating with both investigations.
Sergio Marchionne, Fiat Chrysler’s CEO, earlier in the year said the manufacturer was interested in outsourcing manufacturing for the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200, but at this stage nothing has been confirmed. Similar claims were made in a 2015 lawsuit filed by a dealer of Fiat Chrysler-owned Maseratis.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has announced plans to pump more than US$1 billion into two USA assembly plants in a pair of Midwest states.
The dealers that filed the lawsuit – Napleton’s Arlington Heights Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Arlington Heights, Ill., and Napleton’s Northlake Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Lake Park, Fla., – are part of the Napleton Automotive Group, one of the largest Fiat Chrysler dealer groups in the U.S.
Fiat Chrysler has been among the US auto industry’s fastest-growing brands, posting 75 consecutive months of sales growth, much of it tied to a stream of new models and attractive sales incentives.
Meanwhile, the north plant at the company’s Toldeo assembly will be retooled to make way for the next-generation Jeep Wrangler, a program that will create 700 news jobs.
Investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the SEC visited Fiat Chrysler offices and the homes of current and former employees in Michigan, Orlando, Dallas and California on July 11, according to a report Monday by Automotive News, citing an unnamed person.
This year, a dealership group in IL accused FCA US of civil racketeering in a federal civil lawsuit that alleged FCA paid dealers to improperly inflate sales.
Napleton also said Fiat Chrysler would regularly report sales at the end of the month but then cancel them the next day.
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The investigation was originally reported by Bloomberg News.
