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New Delhi: Mercedes-Benz have settled with state attorneys general across the USA, who said an investigation had found that they used emissions-breaching software. Attorneys general from 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico on Monday said that the German brand had violated environmental and consumer protection laws to secure the emissions certifications for which it wasn’t qualified.
Mercedes-Benz have agreed to a $149.6 million settlement following a multistate investigation led by a group of nine attorneys general, including New York Attorney General Letitia James. As part of this settlement, more than $13.5 million will be directed to New York, with funds earmarked for air-quality initiatives. There is also $2,000 compensation payment to eligible vehicle owners and lessees.
Despite going for the settlement, Mercedes-Benz have maintained their stance that they have done nothing wrong. In a statement, the company said that while they cooperated fully with the investigation, they still believe the allegations were without merit and do not accept liability to the states involved.
The attorneys general allege that Mercedes misled their customers by marketing their diesel vehicles as “clean” and “green,” and even claiming “ultralow emissions”. Furtherthey also promoted themselves as manufacturer of “the world’s cleanest diesel automobiles.” According to the investigation, these claims didn’t align with the real-world emission performance of the cars.
“Mercedes promised New Yorkers clean, green cars, but instead sold vehicles that polluted our air and put public health at risk,” James said. He accused the automaker of misleading regulators and customers for close to a decade as their vehicles emitted harmful pollutants.
The New York Attorney General’s office stated that between 2008 and 2017, Mercedes sold close to 200,000 diesel vehicle units coming with emissions-related software in the United States, which includes more than 19,000 registered in New York alone.
The case, of course, is drawing parallels with Volkswagen’s infamous ‘Dieselgate’ scandal from the mid-2010s, which had exposed widespread emissions fraud back in the day and ultimately cost the German carmaker billions of dollars in fines, settlements and recalls.
Even though it is much smaller in scale, the Mercedes settlement serves as another reminder of the scrutiny legacy diesel technologies still face in an era increasingly shaped by stricter emissions regulations and electrification.
