Mercedes-Benz Pulled Volkswagen, Hit With Massive Emissions Cheating Penalty
Back in 2015, we saw Volkswagen make headlines everywhere with their emissions scandal. Long story short, the brand was found guilty of putting a system in place to mask the poor emissions control from their vehicles that might not live up to federal regulations.
They say that history is bound to repeat itself and, in an already obscure year in 2020, it has done just that. In what appears to be a very eerily similar story, Mercedes-Benz is accused of doing pretty much the same thing that Volkswagen got caught doing.
CBS News reports “Automaker Daimler AG and subsidiary Mercedes-Benz USA have agreed to pay $1.5 billion to the U.S. government and California state regulators to resolve allegations they cheated on emissions tests, officials said Monday.”
Yet again, the term “defeat device software” is being thrown around in the case. Essentially, this software is designed to allow a non-compliant vehicle slide under the radar by having it run differently while being tested versus actually being on the road. The brand is believed to have sold 250,000 vehicles that don’t comply with regulations between the years of 2009 and 2016.
While it might be pure coincidence, the timeline of when these cars were produced ends rather abruptly right around the time that Volkswagen was found out in late 2015.
The settlement will involve both civil penalties and a need to remedy the situation. Daimler AG and subsidiary Mercedes-Benz USA will be responsible for fixing 85% of the cars within two years and 85% of the vans within three years.
“By requiring Daimler to pay a steep penalty, fix its vehicles free of charge, and offset the pollution they caused, today’s settlement again demonstrates our commitment to enforcing our nation’s environmental laws and protecting Americans from air pollution,” says Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen.
Civil litigation is over the horizon as well which is said to cost the automakers $700 million, additionally. When all is said and done, though, the $2.2 billion total sum of fines and punitive damages will probably be even further complicated by the repairs and loss of brand value.
