Daimler has used in the view of the authorities in hundreds of thousands of other diesel vehicles an inadmissible exhaust technology. The Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) issued a corresponding recall notice, as Daimler announced on Friday evening. According to the information concerned, this probably affects a mean six-digit number of Mercedes-Benz vehicles in Europe, which are on the road with the somewhat older Euro 5 diesel engine called the OM651.
Daimler wants to appeal against this recall notice. The Group believes that its exhaust technology is legally in order.
An exact number of affected vehicles was not mentioned. The engine is but in a whole series of Mercedes vehicles across the model range. But it is also an older model that is no longer used in current series. "The production of the vehicles expired at the latest in June 2016," Daimler announced.
260,000 sprinters affected
The KBA had already ordered the car manufacturer in 2018 to recall a good 680,000 diesel vehicles, in June this year, then around 60,000 off-road vehicles of the Mercedes-Benz GLK type were added. In the opinion of the authorities, this is an inadmissible shutdown device in the exhaust gas cleaning in use. Daimler sees it differently and has also objected to these decisions.
The vehicles affected include around 260,000 Sprinter models. That the KBA has them in sight, had become known only last weekend.
However, Daimler had emphasized that it was not a new or surprising find. In connection with the order for the GLK, Daimler "already informed that the contested functionality contained in various series and a test announced," a spokesman had stressed. Daimler itself had already presented the functionality of the exhaust gas cleaning system to the KBA in May 2018 "and subsequently explained it in detail in further discussions since the summer of 2018".
Regardless of the contradictions, one cooperates in this case with the authorities, it was said on Friday. Means: Daimler will implement the recalls and inform affected customers, but remains with his point of view.