Mercedes-Benz. file | Photo Credit: AP
Mercedes-Benz USA and parent company Daimler AG have agreed to pay $149.6 million to settle allegations that the automaker secretly fitted devices to hundreds of thousands of vehicles to pass emissions tests, a coalition of attorneys general announced Monday.
According to the alliance, between 2008 and 2016, German automakers equipped more than 211,000 diesel passenger cars and vans with software tools that optimized emissions controls during tests but undermined controls during normal operation. The devices enabled vehicles to far exceed legal limits for nitrogen oxide, a pollutant that can cause respiratory illnesses and contribute to smog.
The states alleged that Mercedes imposed the devices because it could not reach design and performance targets such as fuel efficiency while complying with emissions standards. The automaker allegedly hid the devices from state and federal regulators and the public while marketing the vehicles as “eco-friendly” and compliant with emissions standards.
A spokesman for the automaker had no immediate comment.
Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz USA had already agreed to pay $1.5 billion to the US government and California state regulators to resolve emissions fraud allegations in 2020.
Fifty attorneys general, including the attorneys general of the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, formed the coalition announced Monday. California was not part of the group.
The agreement calls for the automaker to pay $120 million to attorneys general, with another $29 million payment suspended and potentially forgiven until the consumer relief program is completed.
The effort will expand to approximately 40,000 vehicles with devices that were not repaired or permanently removed from the road by August 1, 2023. Owners of those vehicles will receive $2,000 per vehicle if they install approved emissions modification software and an extended warranty.
The agreement also calls on Mercedes to comply with reporting requirements and refrain from any unfair or misleading marketing or sales of diesel vehicles.
Volkswagen also paid $2.8 billion to settle a criminal case over emissions fraud.
published – December 23, 2025 08:11 am IST
