Mercedes-Benz Faces a Lawsuit Due to ‘Dieselgate’ Allegations in the UK

Mercedes-Benz diesel cars are allegedly equipped with a cheating device that helped them pass the emission tests in the UK. Up to one million Mercedes-Benz drivers in the United Kingdom could have unconsciously releasing illegal level of emissions into the air as the German carmaker has allegedly installed “cheating devices” in their diesel-powered cars that helped them pass the emission tests.

That said, the three-pointed star seems not able to shine as brightly since group legal action has been signed up against Mercedes-Benz in Britain. This is after the German Federal Motor Transport Authority ordered a massive recall of Mercedes-Benz cars, as well as the German company, agreed to pay a penalty of €870-million in September 2019 for selling non-compliant vehicles.

According to the legal allegation, Mercedes cars powered by their BlueTEC diesel mills could be fitted with a cheating software or device, which is designed to help these vehicles clear the pollution tests. This device can limit the readings during the emission tests, thereby misrepresenting the actual level of emission released by the cars during the real-world driving conditions. And surprisingly, the vehicles fitted with cheating devices could have been produced since late 2018.

In the UK, there were as many as 160,000 Mercedes vehicles that have been recalled and the figure would increase if the historic sales number of those cars are taken into consideration. Most of the recalled cars feature Mercedes’s AdBlue technology that the company claimed to lower the nitrogen dioxide emission level so that the cars would become “the cleanest cars ever”.

Similarly, Mercedes’s parent company, Daimler AG, has also been fined in Germany while being investigated in the US and Canada for the same case. Mercedes has recently denied all the allegations and stated that “We believe that the claims are without merit and will vigorously defend against any group action”.