Mercedes offers diesel emissions fix for three million cars in Europe

Owners of three million diesel Mercedes in Europe are being offered a free fix to improve NOx emissions.

The German carmaker’s parent company Daimler has announced that it is expanding its “voluntary service action” already in place for 1.5-litre diesel models to include “nearly all EU5 and EU6 vehicles in Europe”.

This means that any Mercedes diesel engines built following changes in European Union regulations in 2011 – when EU5 rules were introduced – will be affected.

Mercedes says one million affected cars are in Germany, with two million in the rest of Europe. Assuming the average market share for diesels, more than 300,000 UK cars could be in line for the fix.

It says that it is investing €220 million (£195m) to provide the software fix free to customers, with the “implementation of the measures…starting in the next weeks”.

Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the board of management at Daimler and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, said: “The public debate about diesel engines is creating uncertainty – especially for our customers.

“We have therefore decided on additional measures to reassure drivers of diesel cars and to strengthen confidence in diesel technology.

“We are convinced that diesel engines will continue to be a fixed element of the drive-system mix, not least due to their low CO2 emissions.”

Mercedes-Benz has continued to invest heavily in diesel engines despite new car registration figures showing that Volkswagen’s Dieselgate scandal, and the ensuing bad press for the fuel, is affecting sales badly. The latest industry figures show diesel registrations are down by nearly 10 per cent so far this year.