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Mercedes-Benz is the latest car manufacturer to be hit with a lawsuit over cheating emissions standards.
Daimler, Mercedes-Benz’ parent company, installed emissions-cheating defeat devices in its diesel vehicles, according to a claim filed Tuesday at the high court in London by Hagens Berman UK.
Daimler’s BlueTec defeat devices allow an engine to operate differently in test conditions than in real-world driving situations.
Lawyers for the claimants allege the devices suppressed unlawfully high levels of nitrogen oxide during driving test conditions. In real-world driving conditions, however, Mercedes diesel vehicles were emitting dangerously high amounts of nitrogen oxide.
Daimler “intentionally programmed the affected diesels” to shut down its full emissions control system “when the testing parameters were not sensed”, and the automaker deceived customers and regulators, and breached UK consumer law by doing so, the claimants alleged.
Head of Hagens Berman UK office Michael Gallagher told The Guardian Mercedes-Benz had done harm to buyers of its cars.
“Mercedes violated that trust. They lied and they knew they were lying and they misrepresented what their vehicles were doing.”
Hagens Berman says it already has 33,000 potential UK claimants who could secure compensation of up to £5,000 each, with the lawyers taking 35 percent of awards, The Guardian reports.
Based on the 700,000 affected vehicles in the U.K. between 2008 and 2018, the firm estimated as many as 1.2 million car owners, lessees and fleet owners could make claims of a value more than £1 billion, The Guardian says.
Tens of thousands of other claimants have also been gathered by a handful of other law firms that have signalled their intent to make claims, which will likely be joined in a group litigation order.
In the U.S., Mercedes-Benz recently had to pay thousands of drivers a total of $700 million USD in a settlement over the same defeat devices.
Mercedes-Benz is not the first player in the car industry to be hit with litigation over emissions cheating, with Volkswagen currently facing high court action and Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles facing a £5 billion class action lawsuit over the reported use of defeat devices.
It its annual report, Daimler said BlueTEC cars fulfilled the strictest emission standards and were the cleanest diesel cars in the world. A spokesperson for Daimler told The Guardian: “We believe the claims brought by the UK law firms are without merit, and will vigorously defend against them or any group action.”
Do you drive a diesel-run Mercedes-Benz in the U.K.? Do you think your vehicle may have had a defeat device installed? Let us know in the comments section!
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