Daimler's $1.5 billion diesel emissions settlement gets US approval

A US District judge approved Daimler AG’s $1.5 billion settlement to resolve a US government probe for its use of software that allowed excess diesel pollution to be emitted by 250,000 of its vehicles in the US.

The settlement includes an $875 million civil penalty levied under the Clean Air Act, $70 million in additional penalties, and $546 million to fix the polluting vehicles and offset excess emissions.

The Mercedes-Benz maker will also pay California $285.6 million and has separately agreed to a $700 million settlement with diesel vehicle owners.

US District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan called the settlement with the US Justice Department and California Air Resources Board, reasonable and in the public interest. He noted that settlement talks have dragged on for over three years.

The settlement has been preliminarily approved and is likely to get final approval this summer.

Diesel vehicles have come under scrutiny in the United States since Volkswagen AG admitted in 2015 to installing secret software on 580,000 U.S. vehicles that allowed them to emit excess emissions.

In 2019, Daimler agreed to pay a $1.03 billion fine in Germany for violating regulations on diesel emissions.

Both Volkswagen and Daimler halted sales of US passenger diesel vehicles.