Dieselgate Isn't Dead. Mercedes Just Got Whacked For Another $350 Million

The latest is a settlement between US states and Mercedes-Benz USA / Daimler that sees the companies paying $150 million to 50 states and up to another $200 million in potential relief for customers.

States Band Together Against Emissions Cheating

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced the settlement earlier today. In a statement, he said that "Mercedes-Benz and Daimler hid devices inside their vehicles to cheat emissions tests, knowingly pumping out toxic emissions far exceeding legal limits. Their deception hurt their customers and harmed air quality for all Americans, and we’re holding them accountable."

The $150 million settlement will be divided up between 48 states, DC, and Puerto Rico, as all 50 attorneys general worked together on the complaint. Connecticut led the suit, along with Delaware and Maryland.

According to the CT Attorney General, from 2008 through 2016, Mercedes "manufactured, marketed, advertised, and distributed nationwide more than 211,000 diesel passenger cars and vans equipped with software defeat devices that optimized emission controls during emissions tests, while reducing those controls outside of normal operations."

This isn't Benz's first payout over the diesel emissions scandal. In 2020, it agreed to a settlement to pay $1.5 billion to various US authorities such as the EPA, California Air Resources Board, and the Department of Justice over violating emissions laws. It also paid $700 million to settle a consumer class action suit.

A similar settlement with German authorities saw Mercedes pay almost $1 billion there in 2019. It had sold 684,000 diesel-powered vehicles in Germany that had the same emissions-cheating defeat.

We take a look at the reason why diesel will almost certainly be dead in a decade, and perhaps even sooner.

The diesel-powered Mercedes-Benz cars and SUVs emitted more than the legal limit of nitrogen oxides when they were on the road. Nitrogen oxides are a group of gases that contribute to smog and respiratory illness.

Owners Will Get Multiple Benefits

$120 million of the settlement must be paid to the states immediately. Another $29,673,780 will be suspended, the CT AG said. That amount can be waived if Mercedes successfully completes its consumer relief program.

That relief program will help the estimated 39,565 affected Mercedes diesel models that were not repaired or removed from the road as of August 1, 2023. For those owners, Mercedes must install an approved emission modification, an extended warranty, and $2,000 cash.

So if you're driving anything with a star on the nose and a rumble under the hood, you might be about to hear from Mercedes. If it falls into those years, at least. During that time, Mercedes sold models including the E-Class sedan and ML SUV. Diesel models came with a "d" in their model number designation, and a BlueTec badge.

Nearly 10 years after Dieselgate broke, a German court has convicted four more former Volkswagen managers for their roles in the emissions scandal.

Volkswagen's settlement of $570 million with the states' attorneys general was the largest of the settlements made so far, and will likely remain in that top spot. Supplier Robert Bosch paid $98.7 million in 2019, and Fiat Chrysler paid $72.5 million that year.