Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne listens during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 9, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook 
 
 DETROIT (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCHA.MI) (FCAU.N) Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne told Wall Street analysts on Wednesday that the company’s chances of hitting 2018 financial targets are “significantly greater than 50 percent,” according to a person present at the meeting. 
 
 The targets from Fiat Chrysler’s five-year plan ending in 2018 were initially set in 2014 and updated in January 2016. They include 136 billion euros ($144 billion) of revenue and adjusted net profit of between 4.7 billion euros and 5.5 billion euros. 
 
 Fiat Chrysler had no comment on the remarks made by Marchionne at the analyst meeting. 
 
 Last January, the company raised it targets for 2018, and also forecast adjusted operating profit of 8.7 billion to 9.8 billion euros, and adjusted operating margins of 6.4 percent to 7.2 percent. 
 
 Many analysts expressed doubts about the company achieving the targets when they were set and then upgraded. 
 
 In Milan, the company’s shares closed Wednesday at 10.47 euros, up 21 percent since the end of December, and in New York, shares closed at $11.09, up 21.6 percent this year. 
 
 Marchionne confirmed on Monday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit that he will retire at the end of 2018. ||||| Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV was accused of violating pollution laws with 104,000 diesel vehicles, sending the shares plunging on the prospect the automaker may follow Volkswagen AG in facing billions of dollars in fines. 
 
 The Environmental Protection Agency alleged Fiat Chrysler put software in Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ram 1500 models that allows them to exceed pollution limits. The EPA stopped short of calling the software a “defeat device” but said the carmaker failed to disclose their use. Fiat Chrysler said it meets all applicable regulatory requirements and will work with President-elect Donald Trump’s administration to contest the allegations. 
 
 Fiat Chrysler becomes the second automaker in less than three years the EPA has accused of violating the law by using software to pass laboratory emissions tests. Volkswagen, which admitted to using defeat devices in September 2015, agreed Wednesday to pay a $4.3 billion fine, boosting the cost of the scandal to about 20.5 billion euros ($21.9 billion). 
 
 Fiat Chrysler’s case is “completely different” from Volkswagen’s, Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne said in a call with reporters Thursday. He called the timing of the EPA’s notice of a violation “very strange” and said the Italian-American automaker rescued by the Obama administration in 2009 had discussed emissions with the EPA for more than a year. 
 
 “I am really ticked off,” Marchionne said. Fiat Chrysler fell as much as 18 percent, the biggest intraday drop since the stock began trading in October 2014. The shares pared losses after the CEO’s conference call, trading down 10 percent to $9.95 as of 4:15 p.m. in New York. 
 
 Fiat Chrysler’s alleged violations could result in fines of as much as $44,539 per vehicle, Cynthia Giles, the EPA’s enforcement chief, said Thursday. The total potential penalty could be as much as $4.6 billion, based on the cost per vehicle and the number of 2014 through 2016 model year SUVs and trucks. When the EPA first revealed Volkswagen’s wrongdoing in September 2015, the company faced punishment of up to $18 billion. 
 
 ‘Clear Violation’ 
 
 “Our meetings with Fiat Chrysler to date have not produced a viable explanation” for the software, Giles said during a conference call the EPA hosted with reporters. “This is a clear violation of the Clean Air Act.” 
 
 New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said his office will investigate the EPA’s claims against Fiat Chrysler, saying in a statement he was “deeply troubled” and would work with state and federal partners. 
 
 Fiat Chrysler plans to work with the Trump administration to “present its case and resolve this matter fairly and equitably,” the automaker said in a statement. 
 
 The company’s bonds also fell. Its $1.47 billion of 5.25 percent coupon notes due in 2023 sank 4 cents to 99.7 cents at 11:19 a.m. in New York, according to Trace, the bond-price reporting system of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. That’s the biggest decline since the notes were sold in July 2015. 
 
 Read More: FCA Suppliers Tumble After EPA Allegations 
 
 Enhanced Testing 
 
 The EPA says it discovered Fiat Chrysler’s allegedly illegal software while conducting enhanced testing of other diesel vehicles in the wake of Volkswagen’s scandal. The agency said it’s now up to Fiat Chrysler to demonstrate the software was not a defeat device. 
 
 “Chrysler’s alleged misbehavior -- rigging its trucks, VW-like, to increase pollution of our lungs and lying about it -- is appalling,” Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Campaign, said in an e-mailed statement. 
 
 The EPA’s violation notice said Fiat Chrysler’s diesel engine system had eight control devices changing the emissions of the vehicles under certain conditions that the company didn’t disclose. 
 
 Not all such systems are cheat devices like Volkswagen used, according to John German, senior fellow at the International Council on Clean Transportation, a Washington-based non-profit that conducts technical and scientific analysis. ICCT played a central role in exposing Volkswagen’s cheat devices. 
 
 Devices Allowed 
 
 The government allows control devices, but they can’t be used to change emissions to meet testing requirements and they must be disclosed, German said. 
 
 “The EPA is still investigating whether these are cheat devices,” he said in a phone interview. “VW got hit hard because they lied, covered it up and didn’t have a fix.” 
 
 Marchionne said he presumes the U.S. Justice Department also is investigating the company. Fiat Chrysler’s software wasn’t used to bypass emissions tests or operate differently during evaluations than in real-world use, he said, calling such allegations “absolute nonsense.” 
 
 “This software doesn’t look for anything,” he said. “It just runs.” ||||| Columbus Day seems like a fitting debut for Fiat Chrysler on the New York Stock Exchange, don't you think? This is an Italian-American success story after all. 
 
 Shares of Fiat Chrysler began trading on the NYSE Monday under the ticker symbol FCAU. Fiat Chrysler opened at $9 and quickly moved as high as $9.55 before pulling back a bit. 
 
 Chrysler hasn't been publicly traded in the United States in more than seven years. At that time it was known as DaimlerChrysler. Daimler (DDAIF) agreed to sell Chrysler to private equity firm Cerberus in 2007. 
 
 Fiat's stock had previously traded as Fiat SpA (FIATY)in Milan and the United States. Those shares have outperformed GM (GM) and Ford (F) so far this year, largely due to the resurgence of Chrysler -- the smallest of Detroit's Big Three. 
 
 Chrysler reported a sales increase of 19% in the United States last month compared to a year ago. That is Chrysler's 54th consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains. 
 
 The company has done particularly well with larger vehicles, which are becoming more popular again as gas prices fall. Jeep sales are surging, as are sales of Chrysler's Ram trucks. 
 
 Related: Ford shares shift into reverse 
 
 Chrysler has turned its fortunes around since Fiat, led by enigmatic CEO Sergio Marchionne, took control of the company following its 2009 bankruptcy. Fiat initially purchased a 20% stake in Chrysler and now owns the whole company. The combined business is profitable as well, no small feat given how bad things got during 2008 and 2009. 
 
 But can Fiat Chrysler grow further? Right now, it still is just the seventh-largest automaker in the world by sales. In addition to trailing Ford and GM, it's also smaller than Toyota (TM), Volkswagen (VLKAF), Renault-Nissan and Hyundai-Kia. 
 
 Marchionne hinted in a recent interview with Bloomberg Businessweek that there could be more consolidation in the auto industry and that Fiat Chrysler could be a buyer. 
 
 There has been chatter over the past few years about the possibility of a combination between Fiat and Honda (HMC) or Suzuki (SZKMF). Fiat also announced a partnership with Mitsubishi Motors last month in which Mitsubishi will produce new midsized pickup trucks for Fiat in Europe and Latin America. Could a full-blown merger of the two be next? 
 
 Any of these would be a bold deal that could catapult Chrysler ahead of Ford in the global sales rankings. 
 
 Marchionne has said that he plans to step down as Fiat Chrysler CEO in 2018. So if he wants to do another huge deal to make the company even bigger, he's only got a few years to add to his legacy. ||||| DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government is accusing Fiat Chrysler of failing to disclose software in some of its pickups and SUVs with diesel engines that allows them to emit more pollution than allowed under the Clean Air Act. 
 
 The Environmental Protection Agency said in a statement Thursday that it issued a "notice of violation" to the company that covers about 104,000 vehicles including the 2014 through 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ram pickups, all with 3-liter diesel engines. The California Air Resources Board took similar action. 
 
 The EPA scheduled a news conference Thursday to explain details of the case. 
 
 "Failing to disclose software that affects emissions in a vehicle's engine is a serious violation of the law, which can result in harmful pollution in the air we breathe," said Cynthia Giles, EPA assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance. 
 
 The agency said it will continue to investigate the "nature and impact" of the devices. The agency said FCA may be liable for civil penalties for the alleged violations of the Clean Air Act. The EPA is investigating whether the auxiliary emission control devices constitute "defeat devices," which are illegal because they turn off pollution controls. 
 
 Fiat Chrysler's shares fell more than 16 percent after the news was announced to $9.29. 
 
 The announcement comes one day after Fiat rival Volkswagen pleaded guilty in federal court to criminal charges related to widespread cheating involving emissions tests with its "Clean Diesel" line of vehicles. Six high-ranking VW executives have been charged in the scandal. VW agreed to pay a record$4.3 billion penalty for cheating on emissions tests. ||||| NEW YORK/DETROIT (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday accused Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV of illegally using hidden software to allow excess diesel emissions to go undetected, the result of a probe that stemmed from regulators’ investigation of rival Volkswagen AG. 
 
 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne listens during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 9, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook 
 
 FCA shares plummeted as the maximum fine is about $4.6 billion. The EPA action affects 104,000 U.S. trucks and SUVs sold since 2014, about one-sixth the vehicles in the Volkswagen case. 
 
 The EPA and California Air Resources Board told Fiat Chrysler it believes its undeclared auxiliary emissions control software allowed vehicles to generate excess pollution in violation of the law and each issued notices of violation. 
 
 The U.S. Justice Department is investigating, Fiat Chrysler said Thursday. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement he is “deeply troubled” by the EPA findings and “will investigate the claims against Fiat Chrysler and stands ready to work with our state and federal partners.” 
 
 Fiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne angrily rejected the allegations at a hastily-assembled conference call with reporters, saying there was no wrongdoing and the company never attempted to create software to cheat emissions rules by detecting when the vehicle was in test mode. 
 
 He characterized the dispute as whether the automaker had completely disclosed software that protects the engine, adding the company was planning updated software to address EPA concerns. 
 
 He said the EPA and the company could have settled the issue in “a more efficient way” without the EPA announcement, and he said “I’m really pissed off” about reports that equate FCA’s issues with VW’s. 
 
 “The way that it has been described, I think, has been unfair to FCA, and that is the thing that disturbs me most,” Marchionne said. 
 
 He also suggested regulators had a “belligerent” view of automakers. “We don’t belong to a class of criminals,” he said. “We’re not trying to break the bloody law.” 
 
 The company has no plans to stop selling 2016 U.S. diesel models. 
 
 EPA has reviews ongoing of other automakers’ emissions systems, but it is not clear if they have found any additional wrongdoing. 
 
 A woman walks past a logo of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) in Turin March 31, 2014. REUTERS/Giorgio Perottino 
 
 Regulators said FCA failed to disclose engine management software in 104,000 U.S. 2014-2016 Jeep Grand Cherokees and Dodge Ram 1500 trucks with 3.0-liter diesel engines. The undisclosed software results in increased emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx). 
 
 Cynthia Giles, an EPA official, said Fiat Chrysler had an obligation to disclose the “illegal software” but has not decided whether to label them “defeat devices.” 
 
 The EPA said it found at least eight undisclosed pieces of software that can alter how a vehicle emits air pollution. Fiat Chrysler had recalled vehicles for one of the undisclosed software. 
 
 By contesting the charge, FCA will push the case into the administration of President-elect Donald Trump. It is not clear how Trump’s EPA will handle this or similar issues. Trump has nominated Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a critic of federal environmental regulation, to lead EPA. 
 
 Efraim Levy, analyst with CFRA, said FCA stands to “get a fresh start with the Trump administration.” 
 
 SHARES SLIDE 
 
 U.S.-listed shares were last down 10 percent, cutting their earlier losses. Milan-listed shares closed down 16 percent, weighing on European stock markets. 
 
 The EPA announcement comes amid closer scrutiny of automakers after Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) admitted to cheating diesel emissions tests in 580,000 U.S. vehicles. 
 
 In 2015, EPA said it would review all U.S. diesel vehicles following an admission from Volkswagen that it installed software in cars allowing them to emit up to 40 times legally permissible level of pollution. 
 
 On Wednesday, Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) agreed to pay $4.3 billion in criminal and civil fines and plead guilty to three felonies for misleading regulators and selling polluting vehicles. 
 
 Fiat Chrysler could face fines of $44,539 per vehicle if it is proven that it violated emissions rules. 
 
 European regulators have also raised questions about Fiat Chrysler diesels. 
 
 Last fall, Germany wrote a letter to the European Commission accusing FCA of using an illegal device to switch off exhaust treatment systems in diesel engines in Fiat and Jeep vehicles sold in Europe. ||||| CLOSE The U.S. government is accusing Fiat Chrysler of failing to disclose software in some of its pickups and SUVs with diesel engines that allows them to emit more pollution than is allowed under the Clean Air Act. (Jan. 12) AP 
 
 2015 Grand Cherokees are on display at a Fiat Chrysler dealership in Doral, Fla. (Photo: Alan Diaz, AP) 
 
 DETROIT — U.S. regulators accused Fiat Chrysler Automobiles of violating emissions standards in more than 100,000 diesel vehicles, spawning concerns that the company could become ensnared in a scandal like the one that engulfed Volkswagen Group. 
 
 The Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday that Fiat Chrysler illegally installed software on about 104,000 pickups and sport-utility vehicles that spewed harmful pollutants while failing to disclose the technology. 
 
 The allegations involve the 2014, 2015 and 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee and light-duty Ram 1500 pickup trucks with 3-liter diesel engines. 
 
 The EPA said the automaker installed eight different undisclosed software programs on the vehicles, collectively causing them to spew harmful nitrous oxide emissions, which can exacerbate respiratory conditions. 
 
 "This is a clear and serious violation of the Clean Air Act," said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. "There is no doubt they are contributing to illegal pollution." 
 
 Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne blasted the EPA in a quickly arranged media call, saying he was offended by the agency's "incredibly belligerent" attacks on the auto industry. He said his company had done nothing illegally, and to try to dispel comparisons to Volkswagen's crisis. 
 
 "There is nothing in common between the VW reality and what we are describing here," he said. It's "absolute nonsense" to suggest so, he said, and anyone who disagreed with him is "smoking illegal material." Marchionne insisted that Fiat Chrysler has been forthright. 
 
 "We're trying to do an honest job here. We're not trying to break the bloody law," he told reporters. 
 
 Marchionne rejected the suggestion that rogue employees could have schemed to violate EPA laws. "If I found a guy like that, I would have hung them on a door," he said. 
 
 Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) shares trading on the New York Stock Exchange were down about 9% after initially tumbling 14% on the news as investors fretted about the financial implications. 
 
 New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said his office would investigate Fiat Chrysler. Marcionne said he believes the U.S. Justice Department is assisting the EPA with its investigation. 
 
 Several analysts said the company's sin may have been solely of disclosure, not an intentionally deceptive act like that at VW. 
 
 "Software which adjusts the emissions of an engine is standard practice across the industry," Evercore ISI analyst Arndt Ellinghorst said in a note to investors. "It is the failure to disclose which seems to be the primary cause of concern at the EPA." 
 
 The EPA has the authority to fine automakers up to $44,539 per vehicle for the worst violations of the Clean Air Act. The agency threatened possible fines Thursday if it determines that the software installed on the vehicles qualifies as illegal "defeat devices" under U.S. laws. 
 
 Kelley Blue Book analyst Rebecca Lindland said there was no indication that Fiat Chrysler intentionally cheated. 
 
 "They're not meeting the standards, but right now, it doesn't appear to be the same type of deliberate act that Volkswagen admitted to," she said. 
 
 Lindland said the mistake might have been a failure to mention the technology when requesting EPA certification to sell the vehicles. 
 
 "It's like bringing a calculator to your math test — you're allowed to bring it, and it's one thing to have it on your desk, but it's another thing to have it in your lap," she said. 
 
 Fiat Chrysler said in a statement that it offered to the EPA to develop software fixes to "further improve emissions performance" because it wants to "resolve this matter fairly and equitably." 
 
 The vehicles were programmed with software that violated standards and was not disclosed to the EPA, Giles said. In lab testing, the vehicles met standards, but at high speeds and in extended driving, they violate regulations, the EPA's Giles said. 
 
 "That means that the vehicles were sold illegally," she said. 
 
 The EPA said it discovered the alleged violations after expanding its testing of on-road vehicle performance following the Volkswagen scandal. 
 
 Volkswagen admitted to cheating emissions laws on more than half a million vehicles and has agreed to criminal and civil settlements totaling nearly $22 billion. Six VW executives were charged Wednesday with allegedly weaving a conspiracy to dodge regulations while the company pleaded guilty to similar charges on a corporate level. 
 
 In Volkswagen's case, vehicles spewed NOx emissions at rates up to 40 times the U.S. standard. Giles declined to provide a comparable assessment for Fiat Chrysler. 
 
 Marchionne sought to distance Fiat Chrysler from VW. 
 
 "To be perfectly honest, I think it's being blown out of proportion," he said. "I find this to be a bizarre characterization of FCA's activities, and we will defend our behavior." 
 
 Unlike VW, the EPA has not ordered Fiat Chrysler to halt sales of diesel vehicles accused of violations. Marchionne said he would not stop sales proactively. 
 
 The Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Group sign at the Chrysler Group headquarters May 6, 2014, in Auburn Hills, Mich. (Photo: Bill Pugliano, Getty Images) 
 
 It's not unusual for Marchionne to take a combative stance against a federal regulatory agency. Marchionne pushed back against the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2013 when the agency initially recommended a recall of 2.7 million Jeep SUVs for potentially dangerous rear-mounted fuel tanks. 
 
 Eventually, the agency agreed to allow FCA to reduce the recall to include 1.56 million Jeep Grand Cherokees for model years 1993 to 2004 and the Jeep Liberty model years 2002 to 2007. 
 
 The following year, the NHTSA was again critical of the automaker for the slow repair rate of those Jeeps. 
 
 Contributing:Brent Snavely, Detroit Free Press 
 
 Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey. 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2jAdL6R
– Less than 24 hours ago, Fiat Chrysler was anticipating hitting its 2018 financial targets. On Thursday, the automaker came under fire from the EPA, per Reuters, with the agency alleging Fiat Chrysler cheated on diesel emissions—just a day after six Volkswagen honchos were indicted in that company's own scandal. In Fiat Chrysler's case, the EPA—which was to announce its findings in a Thursday morning conference call—believes the automaker's software permitted emissions beyond what's allowed by the law, in more than 100,000 SUVs and trucks sold since 2014. This reported violation "can result in harmful pollution in the air we breathe," an EPA assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance tells the AP. USA Today reports that the EPA has the ability to fine up to $44,539 for any vehicle that flouts the Clean Air Act, meaning Fiat Chrysler could have to cough up around $4.5 billion. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles shares were halted Thursday morning after the company's biggest intraday plummet since it began trading on the NYSE in 2014, with shares falling as much as 18% before settling at a 16% decline right before trading stopped just after 11am EST. Reuters' sources say Fiat Chrysler contests the EPA's take, but a statement offered by the automaker and cited on Bloomberg contends all of Fiat Chrysler's diesel vehicles meet "applicable regulatory requirements" and that the company will work with "the incoming administration to resolve this matter fairly and equitably."