Photo: Mercedes-Benz
Five years ago, Volkswagen dragged the auto industry into what may very well be the biggest scandal in its history. The German carmaker was found to have been cheating emission regulations almost as a company-level policy, and incredible financial costs followed for one of the world’s largest car groups.
As we were later to learn, Volkswagen was not alone in this. In fact, the entire German auto industry seems to have decided to cheat in order to pass emission regulations and be able to sell their cars.
Shameful as this practice might be, the many heads that were expected to roll did not. The scandal did have a major financial impact on the involved companies, as VW had to pay in the U.S. alone around $20 billion to settle charges and lawsuits.
Mercedes-Benz, the most recent company to be dragged in the scandal, announced this week it too would settle with a plethora of U.S. authorities (EPA, CARB, DOJ, and even the U.S. Customs and Border Protection), but also with the people who filed a class action against it.
As per Mercedes’ owner Daimler, the proposed settlement (the deal is yet to be approved by authorities) calls for $1.5 billion to be paid to the U.S. government, and $700 million to settle the class action. The Germans were accused of having rigged the emission levels of 250,000 diesel passenger cars and vans sold in the States.
Daimler expects the financial impact of the deal to be heavily felt over the next three years, with the biggest hit coming over the next twelve months. Yet, the German company believes this was the only way to kept things going.
“Today, the Board of Management as well as the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG have approved the proposed settlements after weighing all aspects in the best interest of the company,” Daimler said.
“With the proposed settlements, the company takes an important step towards legal certainty with respect to various diesel proceedings in the United States.”
Shameful as this practice might be, the many heads that were expected to roll did not. The scandal did have a major financial impact on the involved companies, as VW had to pay in the U.S. alone around $20 billion to settle charges and lawsuits.
Mercedes-Benz, the most recent company to be dragged in the scandal, announced this week it too would settle with a plethora of U.S. authorities (EPA, CARB, DOJ, and even the U.S. Customs and Border Protection), but also with the people who filed a class action against it.
As per Mercedes’ owner Daimler, the proposed settlement (the deal is yet to be approved by authorities) calls for $1.5 billion to be paid to the U.S. government, and $700 million to settle the class action. The Germans were accused of having rigged the emission levels of 250,000 diesel passenger cars and vans sold in the States.
Daimler expects the financial impact of the deal to be heavily felt over the next three years, with the biggest hit coming over the next twelve months. Yet, the German company believes this was the only way to kept things going.
“Today, the Board of Management as well as the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG have approved the proposed settlements after weighing all aspects in the best interest of the company,” Daimler said.
“With the proposed settlements, the company takes an important step towards legal certainty with respect to various diesel proceedings in the United States.”
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