Mercedes-Benz faces class action over diesels emissions

Almost 3,000 diesel-powered vehicle owners in Germany have joined a class action against Mercedes-Benz in relation to the long-running scandal over emissions of nitrogen oxides, justice officials have told dpa.

Initial hearings are to be held on Tuesday in a court in Stuttgart, the city where the company is based.

By the end of June, 2,804 Mercedes-Benz owners had joined the class action brought by consumer groups organized in the national vzbv association.

Mercedes-Benz stands accused of deliberately manipulating exhaust emission levels during testing, thereby concealing the level of emissions under actual driving conditions.

Certain vehicles were subsequently banned from using designated roads in some German cities, pushing down their second-hand value.

A Mercedes-Benz spokeswoman said she saw the claims as unjustified and indicated the company would contest the vzbv action, which was submitted last year.

While the vzbv is acting on behalf of the owners in a class action, in the event that the action succeeds, the owners will have to lodge their claims individually.

The group submitted a similar claim against Volkswagen in 2018, and agreement was reached at the start of 2020, with VW paying compensation to around 245,000 owners in Germany.