Mark Brnovich, the Arizona Attorney General, announced that Mercedes-Benz has agreed to pay around $5.5 million to settle a case related to deceptive advertising practices surrounding the use of its diesel vehicles.
The settlement means that Mercedes will have to pay $2,835,000 in consumer restitution to qualifying Arizonans, who will receive up to $625 per vehicle affected by this diesel case. It will have to pay a further $2,715,000 in penalties, while Robert Bosch LLC will pay $525,000 penalties under the settlement.
The agreement relates to allegations made by the Attorney General’s Office that Mercedes sold its BlueTEC vehicles as the most environmentally conscious diesel option on earth, despite employing a defeat device during testing to make its vehicles appear greener than they actually were.
Read: Mercedes To Spend Billions To Settle Dirty Diesel Investigation
“Arizona demands truth in advertising to assist consumers in making the most informed decisions for themselves,” Brnovich told Reuters.
The consent judgments are still pending court approval but, once approved, consumers who owned or leased one of the affected diesel vehicles will be identified and sent a letter. Consumers who qualify will receive money whether or not they received refunds as a result of the national settlement reached by Mercedes and Bosch.
In 2020, Mercedes agreed to pay $2.2 billion to resolve an emissions investigation with the U.S. federal government relating to cheating during diesel emissions tests. That settlement included an $875 million civil penalty related to the Clean Air Act and $546 million to fix diesel vehicles that were polluting too much.
The case was similar in nature to the Volkswagen “Dieselgate” scandal, but the agreement allowed Mercedes not to admit culpability in the case. Similarly, Mercedes is not admitting to any wrongdoing in this Arizona case.
“With the settlement, the company takes another step toward resolution of various diesel proceedings… and avoids further costs of litigation and lengthy court actions,” the automaker said in a statement.
