Billion dollar deal with the US judiciary: Daimler buys itself free from exhaust gas processes

Unlike VW, Daimler has always denied having beautified the emission values ​​of its diesel cars with manipulated software. The automaker is now ending ongoing proceedings in the USA with a billions in comparison. It is expensive, but the group can still avoid an admission of guilt.

With a payment of the equivalent of more than 1.9 billion euros, Daimler wants to clear up the dispute with authorities and customers over alleged violations of emissions regulations in the USA. The carmaker sets with two settlements investigative proceedings of the US authorities and also numerous lawsuits from car owners, as the Justice Department and the group itself announced. Daimler and its subsidiary Mercedes-Benz USA are accused of excessive emissions in around 250,000 diesel vehicles.

The settlement sends a "clear message" to automakers that the US government is tough on compliance with emissions standards, EPA head of the EPA, Andrew Wheeler, said at a press conference in Washington. Daimler did not disclose dubious software for emissions control to the authorities. According to its own statements, the Justice Department imposed a civil law fine of $ 875 million, and the settlement would cost Daimler around $ 1.5 billion.

The group itself had already announced in August that it had reached an agreement in principle not only with the authorities but also with private plaintiffs in the USA regarding the legal disputes. Daimler has now also provided details on this. Accordingly, around $ 700 million will be due to settle US class action lawsuits by car owners, so that the legal exemption in the USA adds up to well over two billion dollars.

Procedure because of souped-up nitrogen oxide values

Daimler emphasized whether the functions used in the vehicles are "defeat devices", i.e. an inadmissible switch-off device for the exhaust gas purification system. "The settlement agreements explicitly state that the company denies the allegations of the authorities as well as the claims of the class action plaintiffs and does not accept any liability to the USA, California, the plaintiffs or in any other way."

Since 2016, Daimler has been targeted by the US judiciary for allegedly fudged readings for the emission of the pollutant nitrogen oxide. Targeted manipulations of the exhaust technology with a cheat software, as it was used for years at Volkswagen, the group had always rejected. In contrast to the Wolfsburg-based company, who in 2015 admitted exhaust gas fraud on a grand scale under pressure from the US authorities, Daimler does not admit guilt in the context of the comparisons and does not have to buy back vehicles from customers or be monitored by a watchdog by the US authorities in the future .

Comparison does not protect against criminal consequences

To do this, Daimler has to improve the cars via software updates, as in Europe, and there are other environmental measures for which the company is asked to pay. In addition to the sums determined in the comparisons, Daimler expects costs in the mid three-digit million range for implementing the agreement.

However, Daimler cannot completely tick the issue off yet. The settlements still have to be approved by the court in the USA and only end civil proceedings, so that further criminal consequences cannot be ruled out. Since the massive violations of the air pollution control law by VW, the US environmental authorities have been insisting on compliance with the emission standards and have also wrested an expensive comparison from the Italian-American car maker Fiat Chrysler. US class actions for alleged exhaust gas manipulation are also pending against a number of other automakers.

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