BERLIN -- Opel has accepted a fine of 64.8 million euros ($75 million) for selling diesel cars with higher emissions than it had reported to German transport regulators, according to a report.
The public prosecutor's office in Frankfurt imposed the fine after an investigation found that several Opel diesel models emitted significantly higher levels of pollutants than those reported to the Federal Motor Transport Authority.
Opel told the German News Agency (dpa) that the fine had been paid.
An Opel spokeswoman said the authority had closed an investigation against Opel in February "for violation of documentation obligations" in the approval of diesel models.
Opel told the dpa that the fine notice does not contain any accusation of an intentional act or a criminal offense, in particular to an accusation of fraud.
"It also does not contain a finding of an illegal defeat device," a company spokesman said.
Opel reiterated its view that all its vehicles have complied with legal requirements at all times.
Opel told a German investigating committee in 2016 that its Zafira minivan had engine software that switched off exhaust treatment systems under certain speed and air pressure conditions to protect the engine.
In 2018, the Federal Motor Transport Authority imposed a mandatory recall on Opel models that had emitted significantly higher levels of pollutants on the road. Opel responded with modified software.
Opel's case was distinct from the diesel-emissions scandal involving Volkswagen Group, which concerned the rigging of exhaust emissions tests to deceive regulators.
Four ex-Volkswagen Group managers are currently standing trial in Germany, accused of fraud for their part in the automaker's diesel-rigging scandal that rocked the country's automotive industry and continues to have knock-on effects.
