I n the wake of the Volkswagen emissions scandal, carmakers were under the spotlight again as Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler announced an internal review into diesel emissions testing while several German auto companies plan to recall more than 600,000 vehicles as part of a widening investigation.
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The US Department of Justice has reportedly called for an investigation into allegations of emissions improprieties with Mercedes-Benz diesel vehicles. The increased sum included the cost of fixing cars that violate air pollution standards, buying back vehicles and legal costs.
And just this week Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors admitted rigging data on some of its models’ fuel efficiency, while France’s Peugeot has been raided by anti-fraud officials as part of ongoing investigations on pollutants in the vehicle industry.
Germany’s Daimler, maker of Mercedes, stated it had actually been gotten in touch with by the Justice Department last week over “possible indicators of abnormalities”.
Senior U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, who is overseeing a tangle of litigation over the VW emissions scandal, gave no details on how much vehicle owners would be paid but said the tentative agreement between the automaker, the U.S. government and plaintiffs’ attorneys would include “substantial compensation”.
Net profit fell to 1.40 billion euros ($1.60 billion) from 2.05 billion euros in the year-earlier quarter.
The 12-brand Volkswagen Group that also spans over automakers such as Audi, Porsche, Bentley and Lamborghini had a €12.8 billion operating profit excluding “special items”.
A device to cheat on emissions tests “has never been and will never be used at Daimler”, the group said.
The company said that a recent collective lawsuit against the company for allegedly using a “defeat device” to cheat the emissions regulations in the U.S. has no basis in truth, Spiegel reports.
USA law firm Hagens Berman, which had already filed a complaint in February, said new tests had shown that Mercedes BlueTEC cars produced nitrogen oxide emissions in virtually all road tests that were far higher than in controlled lab tests.
Of course, Daimler responded by saying that the lawsuit was “without merit” adding that they’ll be “cooperating fully with the authorities“.
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Analysts at Warburg Research think the direct cost of fines, recalls and settlements worldwide will reach 28.6 billion euros – and that’s excluding any impact on sales and market share.
