Mercedes to recall entire EU diesel fleet

Virtually Mercedes-Benz diesel vehicle sold in the EU since 2011 will be recalled, Daimler has announced. The move comes after allegations that the Mercedes-Benz had faked emissions tests were published in a German newspaper last week, and an investigation into Daimler in May. Daimler refuses to say the announcement is a recall, dubbing it a “service action” in a statement. Owners of nearly every model produced since 2011 will be asked to return their cars to their local dealer so the engine can be adjusted to reduce emissions. Altering the 3 million cars on European roads will cost the German car maker $346 million, the Telegraph reports. The recall includes popular C-Class and E-Class Mercedes vehicles. “The public debate about diesel engines is creating uncertainty,” chief executive of Daimler Dieter Zetsche said in a statement. “We have therefore decided on additional measures to reassure drivers of diesel cars and to strengthen confidence in diesel technology.”’ The software update is expected to take approximately an hour, and will extend emissions controls on the engine so it will activate under wider conditions. Zetsche said the action wasn’t the end of the diesel engine for Mercedes, and that the company is “convinced that diesel engines will continue to be a fixed element of the drive-system mix, not least due to their low CO2 emissions.”