Betrayal of #1 Import Car Maker
The Ministry of Environment announced on May 6 that it confirmed an exhaust gas manipulation in 40,381 diesel cars of Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Porsche sold from 2012 to 2018. In South Korea, such manipulation has been uncovered seven times so far, starting from the case of Audi Volkswagen Korea in 2015, and this is the first time for Mercedes-Benz Korea.
Mercedes-Benz Korea conducted the manipulation in 37,154 diesel cars divided into 12 models, and the ministry imposed a fine of 77.6 billion won on it. It is the ministry’s largest fine ever in relation to exhaust gas manipulation. Nissan Korea and Porsche Korea conducted the manipulation in 2,293 and 934 cars and must pay a fine of 900 million won and one billion won, respectively.
According to the ministry, the three companies manipulated their devices so that nitrogen oxide emissions are reduced during its test. In the case of Mercedes-Benz Korea, the emissions during normal driving amount to 13.7 times the emissions during the test.
Some experts point out that the incident can lead to another Audi Volkswagen scandal. Audi Volkswagen Korea had to recall its cars and halt its marketing in 2015 after the same manipulation conducted in about 11 million vehicles. The company was given a fine of 26 billion won in February this year.