▶주메뉴 바로가기

▶본문 바로가기

The Korea Herald
검색폼

THE INVESTOR
March 19, 2024

Automobiles

Mercedes-Benz to haul diesel cars off Korean roads

  • PUBLISHED :July 21, 2017 - 16:34
  • UPDATED :July 21, 2017 - 16:34
  • 폰트작게
  • 폰트크게
  • facebook
  • sms
  • print

[THE INVESTOR] Mercedes-Benz Korea has decided to take diesel cars off the roads here after its German headquarters’ latest decision to recall over 3 million cars across Europe.

“We decided to offer the same service for vehicles in Korea,” Mercedes-Benz Korea said in a statement on July 21. “The service will be extended to around 100,000 units that do not include the new E-Class, free of charge.”

The company stressed the voluntary recall is a preemptive step for promoting confidence in diesel technology and to reassure its customers 

“We will announce the details of recall, such as the timing, after discussing the matter with headquarters and the Environment Ministry,” a Mercedes-Benz Korea spokesperson told The Investor.




Mercedes-Benz was undecided on the recall until a request by the Environment Ministry on July 20. Previously, the company had been under fire for failing to issue a recall in Korea, its fifth-largest market in the world. During the first half of this year, Mercedes-Benz Korea was the best-selling imported car brand, with sales jumping 54 percent on-year.

On July 18, Mercedes-Benz’s parent firm Daimler, which is being investigated for alleged emissions cheating, issued a statement saying it will recall 3 million diesel cars with Euro 5 and Euro 6 standards to offer a software update that would reduce the nitrogen oxide emissions levels.

The massive recall, which affects nearly all the diesel vehicles the German carmaker has sold in Europe since 2009, will cost the company about US$254 million.

Despite the voluntary effort, Daimler still faces investigation in the US and Germany for emissions cheating allegations regardless of the recall decisions. Globally, Daimler sold about a million cars with the OM 642 and OM 651 engines that are suspected of using emission control defeat devices outside of government emissions testing.

Separately in Korea, the Environment Ministry plans to carry out its own probe. Officials estimate up to 110,000 cars in Korea are running on the problematic engines. Local authorities are planning to sue the carmaker, as well as force a recall, if they are found to have been rigged to cheat emissions tests.

The latest development comes on the heels of Volkswagen’s emission scandal that put diesel technology on the spot and deeply scarred the firm’s image. The Environment Ministry last year revoked certification and halted sales of 80 models of Audi, VW and Bentley vehicles, as well as imposing hefty fines for installing cheating devices to manipulate emissions and noise level tests.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)

EDITOR'S PICKS