The Justice Department has concluded an eight-year-long probe into Mercedes-Benz relating to diesel emissions without filing charges, nearly four years after the German automaker reached a $1.5 billion settlement to settle allegations of emissions cheating. Representatives for Mercedes-Benz confirmed to Bloomberg that the DOJ had ended its investigation and had not brought charges against the company. The investigation began in April 2016, months after Volkswagen was found to be cheating on emissions tests. Mercedes-Benz said it “agreed to cooperate fully” with the investigation and deemed the claims in the lawsuit as “baseless.”
The investigation stemmed from a class action lawsuit that alleged some of the automaker’s vehicles violated emissions standards. Daimler and Mercedes-Benz reached a $1.5 billion settlement in September 2020 with regulators to settle allegations of emissions cheating that allegedly violated the Clean Air Act and California state law. The settlement involved civil penalties, a nationwide recall, and repair program, and was approved by a federal judge in March of the following year. The complaints alleged that Daimler manufactured, imported, and sold over 250,000 diesel vans and cars from 2009 to 2016 containing undisclosed auxiliary emission control devices and defeat devices, causing the vehicles to produce compliant emissions during testing but emit higher nitrogen oxide emissions during regular operation.
Although it is unclear why the Justice Department ended its probe, representatives for the department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The settlement with regulators followed separate civil complaints from the California Air Resources Board and the U.S. The complaints alleged that the defeat devices used by Daimler caused vehicles to produce compliant emissions during testing but emit higher nitrogen oxide emissions during regular operation. A defeat device is any mechanism that bypasses, defeats, or renders inoperative a required element of the vehicle’s emission control system, according to the EPA.
On Friday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced an investigation into Tesla’s handling of a recall of more than 2 million cars involving its Autopilot system. Tesla recalled the cars in December to fix a flaw in the Autopilot system. This news comes as a parallel to the investigations into Mercedes-Benz and highlights ongoing concerns regarding emissions and safety compliance in the automotive industry. The news of the conclusion of the Justice Department’s Mercedes-Benz investigation sheds light on the consequences faced by automakers for alleged violations of emissions standards and cheating on tests, underscoring the importance of regulatory oversight and enforcement in the industry.
