Car manufacturers and US regulators agreed on a settlement. Daimler has to pay over $ 1.5 billion.
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Daimler has settled the legal dispute over excessive diesel emissions in the USA. The responsible judge approved the settlement negotiated with the US regulator for 1.5 billion dollars (1.3 billion euros), court documents show. The automaker also confirmed that the US federal court for the District of Columbia had approved the September settlement. This would end official procedures in connection with emissions control systems for around 250,000 vehicles.
As part of the deal, Daimler agrees to a civil penalty of $ 875 million. Another 550 million dollars will be incurred in the cost of offsetting environmental damage and recalling diesel cars. This includes $ 127.5 million that the German automaker has to pay to California and that the state can use for environmental projects.
In this context, Daimler spoke of an important step towards legal certainty. As part of the proceedings, the group received no “Notice of Violation” from the EPA or CARB environmental authorities. “In contrast to the settlement agreements of other manufacturers, an external compliance monitor was not required at Daimler.” The cost of settling the class action lawsuit by diesel owners was previously reported to have been around $ 700 million.
US authorities are increasingly monitoring diesel
Diesel vehicles have been under increased scrutiny since the Volkswagen emissions scandal in the USA. The Wolfsburg-based company had to pay billions of dollars in fines and compensation for diesel customers for manipulating exhaust emissions. The American judiciary had also temporarily placed the German group under the supervision of a controller. The monitor had recently finished its work and certified Volkswagen that it had fulfilled its obligations arising from the settlement.
The Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler, which has now merged with the French PSA group to form Stellantis, had reached a settlement with the US authorities in 2019 for $ 800 million to eliminate the charge of using illegal emissions software.
