Diesel: Daimler forced to recall hundreds of thousands of Mercedes

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FRANKFURT (AWA / AFP) – The German auto agency (KBA) has ordered Daimler to recall hundreds of thousands of additional Mercedes Benz, suspected of being equipped with rigging software, the automaker announced on Friday.

"We estimate that an average six-digit number will be affected by this recall," said Daimler, using a formula frequent in Germany and stating that the group will appeal the decision while "cooperating with the authorities."

At least 260,000 "Sprinter" type vans are involved in this European recall, the company said in a statement, saying that all vehicles were built before June 2016.

The KBA had opened an investigation in early October, according to German media, suspecting the manufacturer of the installation of "illegal software" to make appear less polluting cars in the laboratory than actually on the roads.

Daimler has already had to recall some 700,000 cars, including nearly 300,000 in Germany, but disputes the illegality of "engine management functions" pinned by the authorities.

The builder performs recalls, which aim to install software fixes in vehicles.

Investigations into the diesel scandal began in Germany in 2015 when Volkswagen admitted to rigging 11 million vehicles, including 2.4 million sold in Germany.

At the end of September, Daimler had agreed to pay a fine of 870 million euros for putting on the market since 2008 diesel vehicles that did not meet the legal standards on pollutant emissions.

But the group insisted that this did not change its appreciation of the legality of the software used.

On Friday, Daimler said that the recall was going to have "no negative effect on the result," but said that other reminders "can not be ruled out" because "the proceedings with the KBA are in progress".

The maker of Mercedes-Benz posted in July a quarterly loss of 1.2 billion euros, caused by provisions under the "dieselgate", the first quarterly loss for the group in ten years.

In addition, four Daimler officials are still being investigated, accused of fraud and misleading advertising related to the handling of diesel emissions.

ys / dac / cj