BERLIN (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department has closed its investigation into the Mercedes-Benz (OTC:) diesel emissions scandal and the automaker will no longer face charges, the company said on Saturday.
Mercedes-Benz cooperated fully with the DOJ, Renata Jungo Bruengger, Mercedes board member for integrity, governance and sustainability, said in an emailed statement.
“With the DOJ’s decision, we are taking another important step towards legal certainty in connection with various diesel proceedings,” she said, confirming an earlier report in the German newspaper Handelsblatt about the DOJ decision.
In 2016, the US DOJ called on Mercedes-Benz to conduct an internal investigation into possible manipulated emissions levels in diesel vehicles.
The automaker was accused of misleading consumers with false representations of its BlueTEC vehicles, which it marketed as “the world’s cleanest and most advanced diesel.”
