In the US, investigations are underway against the automaker Mercedes. The suspicion: a diesel fraud as VW. Now the company warns its customers about possible recalls.
Mercedes Star
Wednesday, 26.04.2017
09:58 clock
The exhaust gas scandal is going for Daimler more and more menacing. The Group does not exclude sensitive penalties given the investigation of US authorities for potentially unauthorized diesel engine functions.
It is not excluded that the authorities would conclude that in diesel vehicles of Mercedes possibly inadmissible functionalities are contained, it was said in the published quarterly report of the Stuttgart car manufacturer.
If the investigation led to unfavorable results, Daimler could be required, among other things to fines or product recalls, said the Group. “Therefore, it can not be ruled out that the aforementioned risks could have a material adverse effect on our earnings, financial and asset position,” the quarterly report said. Daimler had already pointed out the possible consequences of the diesel scandal in an annual report published in February.
Investigations are also ongoing in Germany
In 2016, the US Department of Justice asked Daimler to initiate an in-house investigation of the exhaust emissions certification process in the US. Background was the detection of the Exhaust fraud with the manufacturer VW,
The Mercedes competitor VW had admitted in September 2015, after allegations of the US environmental authorities, the exhaust emissions to nitric oxide emissions in nearly 600,000 diesel cars have manipulated. For comparisons with plaintiffs in the US and Canada, the company must pay the equivalent of more than 22 billion euros.
In Germany, investigations are also underway against Daimler employees because of a possible diesel fraud, “We investigate against known and unknown employees of Daimler AG on suspicion of fraud and criminal prosecution,” the Stuttgart prosecutor had announced at the end of March.
A year ago, Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt called on several manufacturers – including Mercedes – to voluntarily recall suspicious diesel models. The affected cars were at exhaust gas measurements of the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) noticed by greatly increased nitrogen oxide levels, They are presumably due to so-called thermal windows: Many manufacturers adjust the emission control of their vehicles so that they work only from a certain outside temperature – often only above ten degrees. The thermal windows are ethically questionable, but allowed under the EU directives under certain conditions.