Dieselgate Is Back, This Time It’s Mercedes-Benz

The German government has forced Daimler AG, Mercedes-Benz’s parent company, to recall 7.74 lakh diesel cars fitted with ‘prohibited shutoff devices’. This is continuation of the country’s regulatory agency’s efforts in finding and stopping car manufacturers from employing cheat devices which bypass strict emissions norms.

The models included in the recall are the Mercedes-Benz GLC SUV, Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan and the Mercedes-Benz Vito LMV. All of these models share the decade-old 2.1-litre (2143cc), single/twin turbocharged OM651 diesel engine. The OM651 had been modified to meet Euro 6 emission standards and looks like Mercedes-Benz did take some shortcuts in doing so.

The recall is not expected to extend beyond Europe and Mercedes-Benz is not expected to pay a huge fine like Volkswagen as it denies any wrongdoing and is voluntarily recalling cars to give them a software update. No hardware updates or buybacks also make it a considerably less expensive process for Mercedes-Benz.

In India, Mercedes-Benz uses the OM651 in the A-Class, CLA, B-Class, GLC, C-Class and GLE. None of these cars are expected to be recalled anytime soon, until the Indian authorities take note of this development in Europe and decide to take action. The company had stated that these cars would get the updated OM654 engine, a 2.0-litre, turbocharged diesel engine in their next model updates. The new engine was first launched in the new LWB E-Class launched in 2017.