Daimler faces up to1 billion euro diesel fine

FRANKFURT: Prosecutors in Stuttgart, Germany are set to fine Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler between 800 million euros ($895 million) and 1 billion euros for diesel-related violations, German magazine Der Spiegel said in its online edition on Friday. German motor vehicle authority KBA had discovered cheating software fitted to Mercedes-Benz C-Class and E-Class vehicles and ordered the carmaker to recall 280,000 vehicles, Spiegel said. A fine of up to 5,000 euros per vehicle is being considered by the Stuttgart prosecutor, the magazine said. A spokesman for the prosecutor’s office said the investigation was ongoing and would not be concluded before year-end. Daimler declined to comment while the investigation was under way. In May 2017, German prosecutors searched Daimler offices as part of a fraud inquiry related to possible manipulation of exhaust gas after-treatment in diesel cars. Daimler also faces regulatory scrutiny by United States authorities. In February 2016 the US Environmental Protection Agency asked Mercedes-Benz to explain emissions levels in some of its diesel cars. — Reuters