A coalition of 50 attorneys general in the United States has reached a settlement worth about $150 million with Mercedes-Benz in the scope of the investigation conducted based on allegations of “diesel emissions cheating.”
In a statement released by the New York Attorney General's Office, it was stated that a coalition of 50 attorneys general resolved the investigation into “violations of environmental and consumer protection laws resulting from the company's use of emissions cheating software.”
“The investigation revealed that Mercedes installed undisclosed software in hundreds of thousands of diesel vehicles designed to cheat emissions tests, deceive consumers, and illegally pollute communities across the country,” the statement said, in which the coalition reached a nearly $150 million settlement with Mercedes-Benz USA.
The investigation also found that Mercedes misled consumers by marketing these diesel cars as “clean” and “green” and claiming they caused “extremely low emissions.”
SUMMARY OF THE YEARS 2008-2017
In fact, the statement emphasizes that these vehicles emit more pollution than allowed and do not perform as advertised or certified, and points out that Mercedes sold more than 200 thousand diesel vehicles equipped with this software between 2008 and 2017.
The statement noted that as part of the settlement, Mercedes agreed to immediately pay $120 million to the states and that the remaining $29.7 million would be reduced by $750 for each affected vehicle that Mercedes repairs, withdraws from the market, or repurchases.
