Mercedes Is Facing Air-Quality Lawsuit

Recent news announced Mercedes is facing air-quality lawsuit. Mercedes-Benz was accused in a lawsuit that its vehicles violate the U.S emission standards. It was found that Mercedes-Benz BlueTEC diesel engine emits high levels of nitrogen oxide in the air.

The Mercedes-Benz BlueTEC cars were announced to have clean diesel systems with very low emissions. Also, the company claimed its vehicles emit almost 30 percent less greenhouse-gas than gasoline. Nonetheless, the lawsuit argued that Mercedes diesel cars are knowingly designed to release nitrogen oxide 65 times higher than permitted by federal law.

It appears when vehicles run at temperatures below 50 degrees they are less environmentally friendly than advertised. The lawsuit, filed in New Jersey, stated diesel-powered ML320, ML350, E-Class, S-Class, and GLE are among the affected vehicles. Joerg Howe, Daimler Company’s spokesman explained the accusations are not accurate.

He also added all their vehicles follow the regulatory framework. Some months ago, Volkswagen diesels were also found to violate the permitted standards of gas emission. However, Mercedes lawsuit differs from the actual legal action against Volkswagen.

It was found the Mercedes suit was issued by a Mercedes owner from Illinois with the help of a law firm, Hagens Berman Sobol Shaprio, LLP. The law firm claimed it made the accusation based on an article published in Der Spiegel, a German magazine. According to the law firm, the article stated that Mercedes admitted having designed diesel vehicles to stop emission controls in lower temperatures.

It appears the car company did so in order to protect cars’ engine. Moreover, the law firm added that tests conducted on Mercedes prototypes pointed out that vehicles emitted higher levels of nitrogen oxide in real world driving. As the lawsuit claims, Mercedes didn’t state that, when temperature is below 50 degrees, cars’ engine is prioritized.

Despite this, Mercedes situation is still uncertain as the lawsuit was filed on behalf of a single customer. The Volkswagen current situation and the fact that Mercedes is facing Air-Quality Lawsuit made car companies revise their current offerings.

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