Daimler Summoned by German Government Amid Emissions Cheating Probe

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

After a pair of Mercedes-Benz engines garnered increased scrutiny from regulatory agencies, the German government has summoned executives from Daimler to account for its activities as a new diesel emissions probe picks up steam.

The automaker has confirmed several of its representatives are attending a hearing on Thursday afternoon to speak with the German Transport Ministry — just one day after news broke that Stuttgart investigators believed some diesel-powered Mercedes vehicles may have been equipped with defeat devices between 2008 and 2016.

The investigation centers around the OM642 V6 and OM651 inline-four turbo-diesels, both of which are under suspicion of being equipped with illegal technology used to circumvent emissions testing. Interesting, Mercedes gave up on certifying diesel-driven vehicles in the United States this year after four models Benz had hoped to sell failed to obtain regulatory approval.

Since Volkswagen’s confession of using defeat devices in 2015, investigators have been eyeballing every automaker that still uses diesel technology. Hundreds of police officers and prosecutors conducted searches at Daimler’s offices throughout Germany in May as part of a Stuttgart probe that began two months prior. The U.S. Department of Justice is also conducting its own investigation with the help of lawyers at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, hired by Daimler in a manner similar to how Volkswagen used Jones Day.

According to Suddeutsche Zeitung, roughly one million Mercedes-Benz vehicles may have been sold in Europe and the United States with unacceptable levels of tailpipe emissions — assuming the allegations turn out to be correct. The official documents don’t specify the number of vehicles involved but they do identify two technicians who are suspected of mishandling the software affected engines use.

Jan Holzner, a spokesman at the Stuttgart prosecutors office, has declined to elaborate on the individuals or if the investigation into Daimler would be ramped up. However, this could be because prosecutors haven’t been able to review the majority of seized documents after Daimler filed several suits against the searches. As a result, most of the documents pertaining to the case are legally required to remain sealed.

[Image: Mercedes-Benz]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • W210Driver W210Driver on Jul 13, 2017

    The witchhunt continues...

    • See 1 previous
    • Stuki Stuki on Jul 14, 2017

      @Erikstrawn If there were "evidence," there would be no need for interviews, deliberations, "findings" blah, blah. Hence, witch hunt is an apt description. Those who can, do; those who can't, sue; and all....

  • Kosmo Kosmo on Jul 14, 2017

    Ruh roh, Shaggy!

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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