Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced that 50 attorneys general reached a $149,673,750 settlement with Mercedes-Benz USA and Mercedes-Benz Group AG (collectively, Mercedes) for violating state consumer and environmental protection laws by making, selling, and distributing vehicles equipped with illegal and undisclosed software that was allegedly intended to circumvent federal or state emission standards and concealing this software from the public as well as state and federal regulators.
Attorney General Platkin, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and the Division of Consumer Affairs (DCA) began investigating Mercedes under the State’s Air Pollution Control Act, the Low Emission Vehicle Program Regulations, and the Consumer Fraud Act.
In a complaint filed alongside the final consent judgment, the multistate coalition alleges that, beginning in 2008 and continuing until 2016, Mercedes manufactured, marketed, advertised and distributed nationwide more than 211,000 diesel passenger cars and vans equipped with software defeat devices that optimized emission controls during emissions tests, while reducing those controls outside of normal operations.
“DEP has long been committed to addressing the impacts of vehicle emissions on air quality,” said Shawn M. LaTourette, environmental protection commissioner. “New Jersey is proud to stand with our partner states across the country in reaching this settlement with Mercedes-Benz USA and Mercedes-Benz Group AG that will create opportunities to improve air quality and protect public health. The DEP thanks Attorney General Platkin and his team for securing justice for our state and others across the nation harmed by the deceptive and unlawful use of emission defeat devices in vehicles marketed and sold by these companies.”
In New Jersey, at least 15,297 of the vehicles in model year 2009-2016 equipped with “BlueTEC” diesel technology included the undisclosed software that formed the basis for today’s complaint. Mercedes allegedly engaged in this conduct to meet metrics such as increased fuel efficiency and reduced maintenance schedules that it was otherwise unable to meet while complying with applicable emission standards.
This undisclosed software enabled vehicles to far exceed legal limits on nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions, a harmful pollutant that causes respiratory illness and contributes to the formation of smog, the states alleged.
The settlement requires Mercedes to pay $120 million to the states. An additional $29,673,750 will be suspended and potentially waived pending completion of a comprehensive consumer relief program. Out of the overall settlement, New Jersey will receive $11,066,162.
Additionally, buyers of the affected vehicles will receive additional consumer protections as a result of the settlement. Under the consumer relief program required by the settlement, Mercedes must bear the cost of installing approved emission modification software on each of the estimated 39,565 vehicles that, as of August 1, 2023, had not been repaired or permanently removed from the road in the United States. The company must also provide consumers with an extended warranty and has agreed to pay consumers $2,000 per subject vehicle.
As part of the agreement, the company must also comply with reporting requirements and reforms to their practices, including a prohibition on any further engagement in unfair or deceptive marketing or sale of diesel vehicles, or any further misrepresentations regarding emissions and compliance.
Other jurisdictions joining the settlement are: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
The settlement was jointly led by the Consumer Fraud Prosecution Section within the Division of Law’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement Practice Group and the Environmental Enforcement and Environmental Justice Section within the Environmental & Clean Energy Practice Group.
Published December 2025