German Lobby Group Claims Mercedes Model Exceeds NOx Emission Levels

German Environmental lobbyists DUH are claiming that nitrous oxide (NOx) emissions from the Mercedes C200 CDI are more than twice the limit allowed in Europe.

The lobby group cited tests carried out by the University of Applied Sciences in Bern, Switzerland on a Mercedes C200 CDI which was registered in 2011 and had done 66,560 kilometers.

The vehicle was tested to be emitting 337mg and 352mg NOx/kilometre with a warm engine more than twice the limit of 149mg NOx/kilometre prescribed by the Euro 5 norms. To further analyse this unusual behavior, the car was tested again, once with a cold engine and once with a warm engine. The cold engine test result was quite close to the permissable limit but the result of the test with the warm engine once again showed the same anamoly as before.

However, Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, has stated that it found the tests results to be "questionable" as the testing conditions were not made clear. A Daimler spokesperson stated that Daimler did not know "the specific car, the temperature at the time of the tests, the loading weight"

The emissions scandal came to light in December when Volkswagen was caught using cheating devices in September.