Daimler said that they will fully cooperate with the USA government and the request was filed a few days ago on April 15.
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“The emissions issue significantly impacted Volkswagen’s finances”, said Matthias Mueller, group chief executive.
The affected cars are VW’s 2-litre diesel passenger vehicles sold in the U.S. between 2009 and 2015, during which the company used a “defeat device” to cheat on emissions tests and tried to cover it up.
The company had delayed its earnings announcement, but now says it is to post a whopping net loss of 5.5 billion euros for past year.
“Daimler is co-operating fully with the authorities”, the German company said. VW is on the hook for up to $20 billion in environmental fines in the United States of America alone, although it’s likely the company would negotiate a lower figure as part of any settlement.A source told AP that vehicle owners would share in more than $1 billion in compensation that would vary based on the car’s age and miles. He declined to say when Daimler expects to finish the investigation or report any results. Volkswagen has two months to finalize a USA agreement on fixing or buying back tainted cars there and still faces fines and a criminal investigation. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. admitted this week that it manipulated fuel-economy tests, and PSA Group said late on Thursday that its premises in France were searched by government fraud investigators.
In the wake of the scandal, Volkswagen launched an internal investigation and hired legal firm Jones Day to help get to the bottom of who was responsible for the engine-rigging. This sophisticated software deliberately skews emissions readings when vehicles are undergoing tests.
“Daimler will consequently investigate possible indications of irregularities and of course take all necessary actions”, the disclosure said.
Last year, USA regulators discovered that VW cars were fitted with software that could distort emissions tests.
The potential for Daimler’s Mercedes unit to become embroiled in a scandal of the same scope as Volkswagen is probably limited because it sells relatively few diesel vehicles in the United States, analysts said.
Under the terms of the proposed deal, Volkswagen would offer to buy back nearly 500,000 cars equipped with software that let the cars cheat on emissions tests.
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Meanwhile, 600,000 diesel vehicles are still driving on U.S. roads, in some cases emitting 10 to 40 times the amount of nitrogen oxide (NOx) as is legally allowed by the Environmental Protection Agency. “Cars with diesel engines accounted for less than 3 percent of the 340,000 passenger cars that Mercedes sold in the United States a year ago”, the Times reports.
