Mercedes-Benz Slapped with Record Fine for Emissions Cheating
07 May, 2020
The Environment Ministry is fining Mercedes-Benz W77.6 billion for illegally tampering with emissions tests, the biggest fine ever for a carmaker here (US$1=W1,225).
The ministry on Wednesday said Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Porsche tampered with the emissions of around 40,000 diesel cars sold in Korea.
Mercedes-Benz issued a statement defending its data and said it has "justifiable technical and legal grounds" for them and refused to adhere to the ministry's orders.
But the ministry discovered that the emissions data of 37,154 Mercedes-Benz diesel cars, like the C200d sedan and another 11 models, 2,293 Nissan Qashqai SUVs, and 934 Porsche Macan S diesel SUVs made from 2012 to 2018 had been tampered with.
These were found to emit excessive levels of nitrogen oxide, which is a toxic air pollutant. The selective catalytic reduction devices installed in the cars effectively reduced the nitrogen oxide during testing but operated at lower rates during actual driving.
The ministry accused the automakers of installing "illegal tampering software."
The 12 Mercedes models were found to emit up to 13 times the permissible amount of nitrogen oxide or 0.08 g/km. The Nissan and Porsche SUVs emitted 10 times and 1.5 times more than the limit.
The ministry ordered the three automakers to take corrective measures and may seek criminal charges. Nissan is likely to be fined W900 million and Porsche W1 billion.
Germany's transportation ministry was the first ever to raise suspicions over illegal tampering with Mercedes-Benz emissions back in June of 2018. The German government was conducting an exhaustive probe into all diesel cars on its roads following the "dieselgate" scandal triggered by Volkswagen.
The Korean government followed suit in June 2018, and the probe spiraled beyond expectations when more and more different types of cheating software were found. The probe took a lot more than two years to complete.
Audi and Volkswagen, that have been at the guts of the scandal in 2015, cheated on 125,000 cars and 15 models, but the Environment Ministry only fined them W1.4 billion fine, only fifth of what Mercedes-Benz must pay, as the cap on fines has been raised since.
Affected automakers must submit recall plans within 45 days. Mercedes-Benz says it will issue the recalls however, not pay the fine. It said the affected cars are no longer produced and the current lineup is not at the mercy of the situation while there are no safety concerns for drivers.
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