Fiat Chrysler should have been required to invest in the Electrify America charger network like VW was. They committed the exact same crime even if bringing their vehicles up to standard will be easier.
No they didn't. They did not intentionally engage their emissions systems only during emissions testing, and disable it during normal driving. They did not lie to the government when the issue was discovered either.
What FCA engineers did was disable some of the emissions systems during extreme operating conditions to avoid engine and component damage. This included disabling regens during extreme hot temperatures, extreme loads and extreme cold starts. The EPA rules allow for manufacturers to do this.
The non-compliance is that they did not disclose every possible combination with regard to when and what was disabled. The trucks fully comply with the emissions regulations under all normal driving conditions and under all EPA test conditions.
It wasn't until the lawyers started independently hiring test facilities to look for deficiencies in the emissions systems that the problem was identified. I honestly believe this was an overreach by the EPA. The settlement by FCA claims no intentional wrongdoing. My understanding is that FCA has cooperated with the government since day one. Also, I have no doubt FCA didn't want this to go to court and possibly face the type of settlement VW ended up having to pay out, so they took the deal.
One more thing. If the EPA was really concerned about CO2 emissions and global warming, they would have done everything possible to ensure both VW and FCA continued making these fuel efficient vehicles.