Amid reports that the manufacturer of Mercedes-Benz vehicles may have used software to sidestep emissions tests and carbon pollution standards for cars, U.S. Sens. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) called on Friday for a Department of Justice (DoJ) review.
Media outlets in Germany have reported that Daimler AG installed software in Mercedes-Benz vehicles that can detect emissions tests and reduce exhaust gas during the test period. Daimler AG has denied the allegations.
In a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Markey and Blumenthal noted that suspicions about Mercedes-Benz emissions tests date back to 2016 when a group of customers who alleged that “emission-cheat devices” had been installed on their vehicles sued the company. The company voluntarily recalled 3 million diesel cars in 2017 because they were emitting harmful nitrous oxides.
“To date, Daimler AG continues to deny any wrongdoing and claims that the most recent reporting regarding its emissions-dodging software was selectively released to harm the company,” the senators wrote. “But if the reporting is true, and the company did install software to enable its vehicles to evade U.S. emissions standards, such wrongdoing would violate the Clean Air Act. Additionally, false advertising about the vehicles’ low emissions may have misled and deceived hundreds of thousands of American customers and violated consumer protection statutes.”
Markey and Blumenthal noted that the DoJ began looking into “emissions irregularities” with Mercedes-Benz cars in 2016. They called for the department to “expeditiously investigate any allegation of wrongdoing by Daimler AG and take appropriate action against the company.”