Daimler fined nearly $ 1 billion for selling cars that cheated on emissions tests

Mercedes-Benz's parent company Daimler has been fined 870 million euros (960 million euros) as part of an agreement with German prosecutors following the fraud scandal diesel at the manufacturer. The fine comes at the bottom of what was expected earlier this year.

The news comes just four years to the day after California's Environmental Protection Agency and California Resources Board uncovered the Volkswagen Dieselgate scandal. Volkswagen's massive emissions fraud scandal, which affected 11 million cars worldwide, opened several investigations and lawsuits that uncovered similar efforts by automakers like Daimler to circumvent applicable regulations. diesel vehicles.

Germany's motor skills authority found that some 280,000 Mercedes-Benz Class C and E vehicles had been equipped with software that made them cleaner than they had been during testing. This led to a wider recall of some 700,000 affected vehicles worldwide last year. Daimler also had to recall 60,000 GLK SUVs for the same problem earlier this year. The scale of Daimler's cheats is still unknown, a US Department of Justice investigation and a class action lawsuit in New Jersey are still ongoing.