The Korean regulator Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has issued a million-dollar fine to Mercedes-Benz. The company was fined because it advertised the emissions of its diesel cars in a misleading way. For this, one has to pay 20.2 billion won in Stuttgart, converted about €15 million.
According to the KFTC, Mercedes-Benz tampered with devices and pirated software to reduce the emissions of its diesel cars on paper. Due to this ‘cheating software’, for which Volkswagen has already gone through the dust in Europe, the cars emit more CO2 under normal driving conditions than during the certification tests, according to the KFTC. The regulator states that fifteen Mercedes-Benz models had such software. “It makes sense to impose sanctions on the country’s No. 1 importer of cars for obstructing consumers’ rational purchasing choices with false and deceptive advertisements about its emissions performance, even after the diesel scandal,” the KFTC statement reads.
Also, according to the KFTC, Mercedes-Benz incorrectly stated in the advertisements that the emissions of its vehicles were at a minimum level and that it met Euro 6 emission standards between August 2013 and December 2016. Mercedes-Benz also received such a charge in Europe before. Nevertheless, Mercedes seems to have got its act together in terms of clean diesels: the Mercedes-Benz C220d achieved the maximum score in a European emissions test in 2019.
Last year, the Korean divisions of the Volkswagen Group (including Porsche and Audi), Nissan and Stellantis were also fined by the South Korean regulator for similar incidents involving emissions manipulation.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl