Mercedes-Abgasskandal: Landgericht Stuttgart gibt Klage statt

11,000+ EUR compensation for the E-Class driver.

The Stuttgart Regional Court sentenced Daimler-Benz AG to pay 11,327.90 euros in return for the return of the plaintiff's vehicle, a Mercedes Benz E-Class 220 CDI with the Euro 5 emissions class and the OM 651 engine.
The plaintiff had bought the car second-hand in 2013 for 35,500 euros and had driven it a distance of almost 155,000 km. When calculating the compensation for use, the court assumed a total mileage of 250,000 km.

The Mercedes Benz The Court rejected the argument that the vehicle complied with the emission limits for nitrogen oxides in the tests provided for by law.
According to the relevant case law, the limit values specified in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 must also be complied with in real driving conditions, the judgment states.

The consequences for Mercedes owners: loss of value and threatened vehicle immobilization.

Daimler-Benz AG has placed vehicles on the market and in this context obtained an EC type approval without fulfilling the necessary requirement that nitrogen oxide emissions in real driving conditions do not exceed the limit values according to Annex I of Regulation (EC) No. 71512007. This puts the continued existence of the EC type approval at risk. If the Federal Motor Transport Authority revokes the registration and the operating license expires, every owner faces the risk of having their vehicle taken off the road. Every vehicle is also at risk of a massive loss in value.

The resulting damage was caused by negligence on the part of Daimler-Benz AG employees. It does not meet the due diligence requirements within the approval process for a vehicle type that a car manufacturer assumes that passing the test bench tests is sufficient. The regulation and its legal framework provide no evidence that this assumption is correct.