Daimler Gives Up Plans To Sell 2017 Diesel Car Models In US
As a result of a number of different factors, likely including the fact that US authorities are currently investigating the possible use of “defeat devices” in the company’s diesel cars (defeat devices used to defraud regulators), Daimler has announced that it has dropped its plans to seek approval to sell 2017 Mercedes-Benz diesel models in the US, according to recent reports.
It’s not clear yet, though, whether the company will be exiting the US diesel car market completely.
In an email to Reuters, Mercedes-Benz USA spokesman Rob Moran put things fairly vaguely: “We constantly review our portfolio offerings and make adjustments to meet immediate customer need. Combined with the increased effort to certify diesel engines in the US, we have put the certification process for diesel passenger cars on hold.”
Reuters provides more: “Last month, Daimler said investigations by authorities of diesel emissions and auxiliary emission control devices could lead to significant penalties and recalls.
“The US Justice Department, EPA, California Air Resources Board and a prosecutor in Stuttgart, Germany, are investigating emissions of Mercedes-Benz diesel vehicles. In March, the Stuttgart prosecutor launched an investigation against Daimler employees on suspicion of fraud and misleading advertising tied to vehicle emissions.
“The company told Automotive News in October that it planned to seek approval to sell four US Mercedes diesel models for the 2017 model year. Last year, Mercedes-Benz offered four US diesel models.”
Those plans clearly stalled somewhere along the line. Perhaps there’s bad news coming in relation to the investigations by US authorities?
To reiterate a point made earlier in the article, though, the president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA, Dietmar Exler, stated as recently as April that the future of Mercedes-Benz diesel car sales in the US had not yet been decided upon.
It would stand to reason, though, that the market will begin collapsing at some point in the next decade or two, so the exit is likely inevitable and just a matter of time, regardless of any decisions that are made by company execs.
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