NY DFS subpoenas Fiat Chrysler, Santander for ‘defeat devices’ info

Alessia Pierdomenico | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Sergio Marchionne, chief executive officer of Fiat Chrysler

New York’s top financial regulator has sent subpoenas to Fiat Chrysler, seeking information on whether vehicles sold in the state were equipped with devices that defeated emissions testing, a source told CNBC.

The New York State Department of Financial Services has also requested documents from Santander related to its relationship with the automaker as well as anything related to financing offers for affected vehicles, including those with EcoDiesel engines.

Both companies have until July 14 to produce the documents.

A DFS spokesman declined to comment. Fiat Chrysler and Santander did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

The subpoenas come in the wake of a May civil suit filed in federal court, in which the government alleges Fiat Chrysler sold 103,828 vehicles that violate the Clean Air Act. In the filing, the government asserts that software allowed vehicles to emit lower emissions during federal testing than in “certain normal real world driving conditions.”

— CNBC’s Jim Forkin contributed to this report.