Daimler is already under pressure in the diesel scandal. According to a media report, confidential documents reveal that auto company engineers have long doubted the legality of US exhaust emissions tests.
Dieter Zetsche
Sunday, 18.02.2018
00:21 clock
In the diesel exhaust scandal US investigation files burden the car company Daimler hard again. Confidential documents from the investigators show that Daimler employees are alreadydiesel affair They doubted that they would be able to comply with US road test laws (PEMS), reports Bild am Sonntag. Internal measurements later revealed devastating results. So exceeded MercedesRoad-based models increase NOx emissions by more than 10 times.
According to documents, several software functions existed at Daimler, which were developed primarily to meet the current US emissions tests on the test bench. For example, the function “Bit 15” was programmed so that the exhaust aftertreatment leaves the clean mode after 26 kilometers. In addition, the US investigators came across another suspicious feature that is in the vehicle control system. This so-called “Slipguard” detects on the basis of speed or acceleration values whether the vehicle is on a test bench or on the road.
Daimler has been under pressure in the diesel exhaust scandal for some time; The Stuttgart prosecutor investigates since spring 2017 because of possible exhaust gas fraud as well as the US Department of Justice.
Only last year, the Group recalled more than three million vehicles across Europe to reduce pollutant emissions through a software update. Like other manufacturers, Daimler had agreed with the KBA to voluntarily order certain vehicles into the workshops in order to reduce the emission of harmful nitrogen oxides.
Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche had exhaust tricks like at Volkswagen always rejected.
The documents of the US investigators draw a different picture. Thus, even in various mails even Daimler engineers doubt that the functions used are legal. The group did not want to comment on the allegations at the request of “Bild am Sonntag”. “We will not comment on further details of the ongoing investigation as we have agreed absolute confidentiality with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ),” a spokesperson said. “We have been fully cooperating for more than two years and provide comprehensive transparency.” With regard to limit violations in internal measurements, it said: “The authorities are aware of the documents and have not been charged.”