PHOENIX — Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has added a multinational engineering company, Bosch, to an existing lawsuit against Mercedes-Benz and their parent company for consumer fraud.
In January 2019, the lawsuit began against Mercedes-Benz and their parent company, Daimler. The state claimed that their BlueTEC vehicles were deceptive to customers.
BlueTEC vehicles were marketed as the most environmentally-conscious diesel option.
The Attorney General's office found that Mercedes cars were using a defeat device to make it appear as though they were emitting lower pollution levels in testing conditions. In actual driving conditions, they found that the cars were emitting much higher pollution levels.
The addition of Bosch to the lawsuit claims that they "developed, manufactured, marketed, tested and sold the electronic diesel control that allowed Mercedes to manipulate emissions controls."
Additionally, the state claims that Bosch also communicated the benefits of "clean diesel" directly or indirectly with the public and U.S. regulators.
Brnovich put out the following statement:
"Arizona consumers deserve transparency and accurate information when shopping for and choosing a vehicle. Companies that conspire to deceive the public to line their own pockets with consumers’ hard-earned money will be held accountable.”
The current lawsuit is seeking restitution and damages for the thousands of Arizona consumers, as well as civil penalties.
