WASHINGTON, DC - Mercedes-Benz has reached a $149.6 million settlement with U.S. states to resolve a long-running investigation into allegations of diesel emissions cheating by the German automaker, New York Attorney General Letitia James said Dec. 22.
The automaker said the deal effectively ends its legal issues in the United States over Dieselgate - the emissions scandal first uncovered at Volkswagen in September 2015.
Under the settlement with 48 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, Mercedes will pay $149.6 million and provide $2,000 payments to eligible owners and lessees whose vehicles received required emissions repairs. Mercedes also agreed to adopt a series of actions to prevent future misconduct and comply with oversight requirements, the states said.
The states said Mercedes installed undisclosed, unlawful software in diesel vehicles that hid the true levels of pollution and improperly lowered emissions during government testing. But in normal driving conditions, the vehicles emitted up to 30 or 40 times the legal limit.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares said the settlement extends to the estimated 39,565 U.S. vehicles that had not been repaired or permanently removed from the road by August 2023.
