Volkswagen AG on Friday said that a diesel emissions-cheating scandal would cost it an astounding US$18.2 billion just for a year ago, while Daimler AG on Thursday revealed that the US Department of Justice asked the company to investigate irregularities in diesel emissions in its Mercedes brand vehicles.
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Bloomberg reports on the investigation into diesel emissions at Daimler, initiated at the request of the US Justice Department.
VW last week announced that it had agreed a deal with USA authorities involving it buying back or potentially fixing about half a million polluting diesel cars and setting up environmental and consumer compensation funds.
Daimler says it’s investigating “possible indications of irregularities” in its process for certifying exhaust emissions in the U.S.
The developments come a day after Volkswagen announced a sweeping United States deal in a bid to move beyond the scandal that has disrupted its global business and damaged its reputation. However, the ministry said that except for Volkswagen, none of the companies had illegal software created to produce artificially low emissions under test conditions.”This was the understood, if not documented, agreement between the automakers and the European governments”, Brauer said. The recalls include Mercedes, Opel and Volkswagen and its subsidiaries Audi and Porsche. At the time, other automakers – including Mercedes-Benz – told Cars.com that they do not employ systems that cheat on emissions testing, which would be a violation of the Clean Air Act. However, the ministry said that except for Volkswagen, none of the companies had illegal software created to produce artificially low emissions under test conditions.
VW had faced a court deadline for solutions to the emissions scandal and San Francisco district court judge Charles Breyer said the agreement in principle would give owners of its 2.0 litre diesel cars choices for compensation which also included cancelling the contracts for those under lease. Volkswagen still faces a U.S. criminal investigation. Shares have lost 42% of their value in the past three days.
“Daimler is co-operating fully with the authorities”, the German company said.
Wolfsburg-based Volkswagen is yet to assess the full costs, including potential US Department of Justice (DoJ) fines as part of an expected civil settlement, and a DoJ investigation that could lead to criminal charges.
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The move followed a probe of 53 models by Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority that was sparked by revelations a year ago about Volkswagen’s emissions test cheating.
