Daimler under investigation for using software to defeat emissions tests
19 Feb 2018
US authorities investigating Mercedes maker Daimler have found that its cars came with software which might have helped them to pass diesel emissions tests, Reuters reported quoting German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, which cited confidential documents, .
Diesel vehicle are being subjected to growing scrutiny after Volkswagen admitted in 2015 to installing secret software on 580,000 US vehicles. The software allowed emissions up to 40 times the levels allowed legally when meeting standards when tested by regulators.
According to Daimler, which faces ongoing investigations by US and German authorities into excess diesel emissions, the investigations could lead to significant penalties and recalls.
According to the Bild am Sonntag newspaper, the documents showed that US investigators had found several software functions that helped Daimler cars pass emissions tests, including one which switched off emissions cleaning after 26 km of driving.
Another function under scrutiny allowed the emissions cleaning system to recognise whether the car was being tested on the basis of speed or acceleration patterns.
Bild am Sonntag also cited emails from Daimler engineers questioning the legality of the software functions.
According to a Daimler spokesperson the company continued to fully cooperate with the US authorities and had agreed upon strict confidentiality with the Department of Justice.