Daimler recalls 774,000 diesel Mercedes cars after CEO meets with minister

Daimler’s decision to recall 774,000 diesel Mercedes cars in Europe has increased doubts about the veracity of the carmaker’s claim that its vehicles never had emissions-cheating devices like those used by Volkswagen, Handelsblatt reports. The company ordered the recall after Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche met for the second time in two weeks with German transport minister Andreas Scheuer, who had threatened the automaker with steep fines unless it provided details on how many cars needed to be fixed by a given deadline. The German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) has identified five illegal switch-off functions in Mercedes models, according to a report in the daily newspaper Bild.
The government has ordered Daimler to immediately recall 238,000 Mercedes-Benz vehicles in Germany, according to a Reuters report.

Read the Handelsblatt article in English here.

Read the Reuters article in English here.

For background, read the factsheet Reluctant Daimler plans “radical” push into new mobility world and the dossier BMW, Daimler, and VW vow to fight in green transport revolution.