The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has made an end to its eight-year-long investigation pertaining to the diesel emissions cheating case by Mercedes-Benz, with the judges failing to indict the carmaker with allegations, as reported by the company. This comes fours years after the German automaker reached a USD 1.5 billion settlement to settle separate allegations that it cheated on emissions tests.
Renata Bruengger, a member of the board monitoring integrity, governance and sustainability at Mercedes, confirmed to have been cooperating fully with the DOJ. “In its decision, the DOJ is sending another important signal relating to legal certainty of volumes in connection with various diesel proceedings”, she asserted, confirming German newspaper Handelsblatt’s recent report about the DOJ’s resolution.
In 2016, the US DOJ launched a probe, which consequently led Mercedes-Benz to an internal working group that investigated the potential misuse of emissions in diesel cars. The whole discourse highlighted disparagement that brought into question the true nature of the vehicles, and the firm’s audacity to commit such grave mistakes such as misleading consumers on BlueTEC diesel that was touted as “the world’s cleanest and most advanced diesel.”