Drivers may sue Mercedes over diesel test ‘cheating’
THOUSANDS of motorists could join a legal case against Mercedes-Benz, claiming the car giant sought to ‘cheat’ in diesel emission tests.
Two law firms in the UK are said to be investigating the possibility of bringing a group case in the High Court against the German company.
Lawyers claim they have ‘overwhelming evidence’ of wrongdoing and accused the manufacturer of ‘deceiving the car-buying public’.
If the case goes ahead, MercedesBenz would be the second carmaker hit by the ‘Dieselgate’ scandal since allegations surfaced against Volkswagen in 2015. The case against Mercedes is set to concentrate on claims made about its AdBlue technology. It was claimed
AdBlue would reduce nitrogen dioxide emissions to create ‘our cleanest diesel cars ever’.
But legal firms Slater and Gordon and Leigh Day allege AdBlue vehicles contain unlawful ‘defeat devices’ which manipulate results of emissions tests. The firms say more than 80,000 people in the UK own AdBlue vehicles and could join the group claim.
The companies are already involved in class action on behalf of UK motorists against Volkswagen.
Karolina Kupczyk, of Slater and Gordon, said: ‘There is overwhelming evidence that Mercedes sold highly-polluting vehicles which did not comply with regulations intended to reduce emissions of dangerous NOx emissions.
‘Customers who bought affected models may have a claim for compensation against Mercedes. We intend to hold this carmaker to account for deceiving the carbuying public.’ She added: ‘Mercedes traded heavily on the image of being green, environmentally friendly and producing efficient diesel cars. We can now see that customers and regulators have been deceived.’
Bozena Michalowska Howells, of Leigh Day, said: ‘It now seems that the promise of “cleaner” diesel using AdBlue technology does not stand up to scrutiny. We believe that vehicle manufacturers should not get away with the prohibited practice of using defeat devices which allows them to trick regulators and consumers across the globe in order to increase or maintain their sale volumes, whilst their vehicles pump out much higher levels of harmful NOx gases than they have advertised.’
The announcement of possible legal action comes a month after 90,000 motorists who bought or leased VW, Audi, Seat and Skoda diesel vehicles won the first round of a legal battle. The High Court ruled Volkswagen installed unlawful defeat devices in thousands of vehicles.
The customers’ lawyers said the devices meant the vehicles were emitting up to 40 times the legal limit of nitrogen dioxide when out on the road. The firm is currently appealing against that ruling.
In September 2015, Volkswagen announced that 11million vehicles worldwide, including almost 1.2million in the UK, were affected. The scandal has seen VW pay out more than £26billion in fines, recall costs and civil settlements, and has led to criminal charges against some employees. Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, said last night: ‘We believe that the claims are without merit and will vigorously defend against any group action.’
‘Deceiving car-buyers’