Daimlers Niederlage im Mercedes-Abgasskandal

Cologne Higher Regional Court orders car manufacturer to pay damages.

In its ruling of 5 November 2020, the Higher Regional Court in Cologne ruled that Daimler has to pay damages due to the use of an illegal switch-off device in a Mercedes Benz Marco Polo (OLG Cologne of November 5, 2020, case number 7 U 35/20).

The plaintiff had purchased the motorhome in February 2017 for around 61,000 euros. The vehicle is fitted with an OM651 engine of the Euro 6 emissions class. There is a recall by the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) due to the use of inadmissible defeat devices.

The plaintiff did not install the software update offered by Daimler.

53,000+ EUR in damages for the plaintiff

The Bonn Regional Court, as the first instance, dismissed the lawsuit. Now the case has been successful before the Cologne Higher Regional Court.
The Senate recognized that the damage was intentionally and immorally caused and upheld the claim for damages. Daimler must take the car back and pay back the purchase price, less compensation for the use of the almost 30,000 kilometers driven. The plaintiff can look forward to around EUR 53,800.

The content of the recall notices of the KBA and the release certificate for the Daimler The Senate stated in its judgment that the software update developed by Daimler AG proves the plaintiff’s substantiated presentation of an inadmissible switch-off device, as it requires Daimler AG to ensure that the vehicles it produces comply with the regulations on the basis of the type approvals granted by removing all inadmissible shutdown devices […] be removed from the emissions control system,” and “to fully disclose the emissions strategy of the Mercedes C 1.6 l Diesel Euro 6 vehicles currently in production.”

The defendant car manufacturer did not effectively dispute the plaintiff's allegations, so that they must be deemed to have been admitted.

Limits for nitrogen oxide emissions in real driving conditions clearly exceeded

Next to the thermal window The plaintiff also explained the use of additional shutdown devices such as a so-called warm-up function with test bench recognition, a different mode of operation of the SCR catalyst in normal driving, the change of engine control after around 20 minutes so that the car is clean for the duration of the test cycle and then switches back to the dirty exhaust mode, and the use of a coolant target temperature control. This means that the limit values for nitrogen oxide emissions are met in test mode, but are clearly exceeded in real driving conditions.

Daimler has not been able to refute these allegations. Because the KBA's decision was only presented in an incomplete form and largely blacked out, it remains unclear which switch-off devices the KBA specifically criticized. The defendant car manufacturer has not explained why the functions should be permissible. Even after being expressly requested to do so by the Senate, Daimler has only provided very incomplete evidence from the KBA.