Diesel engine company Cummins reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, agreeing in principle to pay a fine of US$1.675 billion in exchange for the other party withdrawing the case. The settlement agreement will be announced next month after approval by the court. The Department of Justice and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) filed a claim against Cummins for pollution emissions fraud, involving nearly one million engines. The models involved can be traced back to the 2013 Ram (Dodge T-Rex) 2500 and 3500 pickup trucks, and the deception has continued to 23 models.

The prosecution stated that Cummins installed a so-called "defeat device" on the engine to deceive or bypass vehicle emission detection sensors and on-board computers. According to preliminary assessment, it may have exceeded the emission of thousands of tons of nitrogen oxides. Because affordable housing is closer to busy highways, these harmful pollutants are most harmful to vulnerable groups. The Ministry of Justice struck a blow, setting a record for the largest fine in the automotive industry and the second-highest amount of fines in the environmental protection field.

It should be noted that the US$1.675 billion is only a fine, and the costs of recalling and replacing engine software and hardware need to be borne by the defendants themselves. Cummins announced that it will set aside US$2 billion in the fourth quarter to resolve fines and claims; it will prepare another US$1.93 billion in the first half of next year to resolve recall costs for major customers, including truck manufacturers PACCAR and Mercedes-Benz Trucks.

The previous sensational Volkswagen emissions scandal resulted in sky-high fines of US$1.45 billion, but civil and criminal lawsuits surrounding emissions cheating cost Volkswagen at least US$20 billion.

In addition, Volkswagen announced that the current golf GTI will receive a mid-term facelift in mid-2024, and the pure electric GTI is scheduled to be launched in 2026.

The first-generation Golf (MK1) was born in 1975. By the eighth generation, 35 million units had been sold, including 2.8 million GTI sports models.

Some people speculate that the first-generation pure electric GTI may be derived from Volkswagen's ID2 pure electric model. Like the pure electric Polo, it is based on the MEBEntry front-wheel drive platform and will evolve to the SSP platform by 2028.