Daimler to address emissions in over 3 million diesel cars
- by Virginia Carter
- in World Media
- — Jul 20, 2017
Mercedes will offer a voluntary emissions fix for three million of its diesel-engined cars across Europe.
"Wissmann said he expected an agreement would be reached by then on who would cover the costs for updating software of around 3 million older diesel cars to cut their emissions". About 45 percent of the compact class cars and over 75 percent V-Class vans have already undergone the voluntary service action.
The move also comes as regulators and criminal investigators on both sides of the Atlantic are scrutinizing Mercedes-Benz on suspicion that some of its diesel vehicles used illegal defeat devices, an allegation raised by environmental groups that Daimler has repeatedly denied.
Dieter Zetsche, a Daimler AG Chairman and the head of the German automaker's Mercedes-Benz brand, explained the action as a move to clear up uncertainty.
The Stuttgart-based company said it was taking the step to reassure drivers and strengthen confidence in the technology.
Daimler said the company has already proved that it can meet the tighter European Union regulations with a new diesel engine that first appeared in the 2016 E-class.
Air pollution, in part caused by harmful NOx emissions from diesel powered vehicles, is estimated to kill 6.5m people around the world every year, according to the International Energy Agency.
There have been recent rumblings from Germany that Daimler - parent company of Mercedes and Smart - has been playing games with software to deliver impressive emissions when cars are subject to official scrutiny. It said the measures would be rolled out in the coming weeks and would cost about $252 million. One of their new diesel technology is the latest four-cylinder OM 654 engine in the E-Class model that was launched in 2016.
Daimler has been betting heavily on diesel engines.
Diesel vehicles emit lower levels of carbon dioxide compared with their gasoline counterparts and have better fuel efficiency, but they spew nitrogen oxides, which cause asthma and are considered carcinogens.
Daimler is adamant that it adhered to regulations that allow vehicles to reduce emissions controls to protect a car's engine.
