Shortly after it was revealed that Volkswagen equipped 11 million diesel-engine vehicles worldwide with emissions-cheating “defeat devices,” rumors began swirling that similar irregularities were present in Daimler vehicles. While the carmaker hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing by regulators, it announced today that it would review its emissions certification process and investigate possibly issues.
The carmaker’s decision to look under the hood, so to say, came after the Department of Justice prompted Daimler, which makes Mercedes-Benz vehicles, to conduct an internal review, the Associated Press reports.
“Our conservative communication supports a constructive relationship with the authorities,” Daimler chief financial officer Bodo Uebber said during call on Friday. “I cannot give you further information.”
A spokesperson for the automaker said the company was contacted by the DOJ last week about examining its exhaust emissions certification process.
The probe comes after owners of the Mercedes-Benz BlueTEC diesel vehicles filed a class-action lawsuit that claims the cars are programmed in a way that lets them emit illegal levels of emissions, similar to diesels made by Volkswagen.
Owners claim that — much like Volkswagen — Daimler advertised “clean diesel” vehicles that were anything but clean.
According to the lawsuit, the vehicles’ technology shut down pollution controls when temperatures drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, producing nitrogen oxide emissions more than 65 times higher than Environmental Protection Agency standards permit.
The Daimler spokesperson says the internal investigation is unrelated to the lawsuit, which the company believes has no merit.
In addition to being asked to conduct an internal review, the EPA has also sought additional information about Daimler’s emissions process and levels.
Daimler Emissions Investigation Overshadows Earnings [The Associated Press]
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist
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