Daimler on Thursday agreed to pay $2.2 billion to parties in the United States to settle claims it sold approximately 250,000 diesel cars and vans from the Mercedes-Benz brand fitted with engine control software designed to cheat on emissions tests.
Of the total, $1.5 billion is to settle claims made by U.S. authorities, specifically the Environmental Protection Agency, the California Air Resources Board, the California Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Justice, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The remaining $700 million is to settle the consumer class action “In re Mercedes-Benz Emissions Litigation,” which is pending in a New Jersey court.
Daimler agreed to pay almost $1 billion a year ago to settle with German authorities after they claimed the automaker sold 684,000 diesel vehicles that didn't gel with local emissions rules.
Daimler stopped selling diesel vehicles in the U.S. in 2016, which was when local authorities increased their scrutiny on diesel emissions following the discovery of emissions cheating software in Volkswagen Group vehicles, which kicked off the whole diesel scandal.
VW Group since 2017 has agreed to pay more than $25 billion to parties in the U.S. in its own diesel-related settlements.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles also agreed in 2017 to pay $800 million to settle U.S. claims it had cheated on emissions tests involving about 104,000 Jeep SUVs and Ram pickup trucks.
