— Daimler emissions problems have caused the automaker to settle charges for more than $2 billion from customers, the U.S. Justice Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board.
Daimler, the maker of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, agreed to pay about $1.5 million to U.S. regulators and about $700 million to settle claims in a class action lawsuit (In re: Mercedes-Benz Emissions Litigation).
Daimler's emissions troubles began after Volkswagen was caught in 2015 cheating on emissions tests in millions of diesel vehicles worldwide. VW's actions cost it more than $30 billion, but its illegal use of emissions defeat devices also caused regulators to pay attention to other automakers.
Ford is busy answering questions about it's emissions testing and certification processes, and Fiat Chrysler faced accusations that some of its emissions systems were illegal.
Unlike VW which spent years selling illegal vehicles and finally lying to regulators and consumers when the automaker was caught, Daimler worked with regulators to identify any irregularities.
According to Daimler, the federal claims involve about 250,000 vehicles and it will likely take three years to recover from expenses related to its worldwide emissions agreements and settlements.
The automaker was already fined nearly $1 billion in Germany after prosecutors claimed Mercedes-Benz sold more than 860,000 diesel vehicles that emitted illegal levels of nitrogen oxides.
Additionally, South Korea took action against Mercedes by fining the automaker more than $63 million for allegedly failing Korean emissions standards.
