US authorities have opened an investigation into the diesel Mercedes-Benz engines that use technology “BlueTEC” after the charge that they emit nitrogen oxides levels higher than allowed. “We contacted the Mercedes and asked the test results of diesel engines in the United States,” he told AFP Julia Valentine, spokesman for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the country.
The intervention agency occurred after the class action lawsuit filed in mid-February in federal court in the state of New Jersey, accusing the manufacturer to sell diesel cars in the United States that emit higher nitrogen oxide levels than authorized and to hide the mechanism of the automotive regulatory agency.
The action listed 14 models of cars manufactured by the Daimler subsidiary Mercedes that supposedly contain the technology called “BlueTEC” that would deceive these levels.
The plaintiffs, represented by Hagens Berman law firm, say that Mercedes-Benz has designed this technology to incapacitate the reduction system of nitrogen oxides when the ambient temperature drops below 10 degrees Celsius.
Unfounded
A spokesman for the manufacturer, which insists that the process is “baseless,” he told AFP on Monday that Mercedes-Benz will defend itself “with all legal means” possible.
“We take very seriously the protection of the environment and appreciate the trust and cooperation that had previously with regulatory agencies (like the EPA). It is also in our interest to answer your questions,” said the spokesman. “We will continue to support these agencies in their diesel emissions testing,” he added.
On its website, the Mercedes-Benz presents its BlueTEC technology as capable of reducing the “minimum emissions (…) diesel engines.”
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