South Korea’s antitrust authority announced on Monday that it had penalized Mercedes-Benz and its Korean subsidiary 20.2 billion won ($16.9 million) for fraudulent advertising about the gas emissions of its diesel passenger vehicles.
According to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), Mercedes tampered with pollution-reduction systems by placing unlawful software in its vehicles, causing them to function at lower levels under normal driving situations than during certification testing.
A total of 15 Mercedes models had such software installed, it said.
“It is meaningful to impose sanctions against the country’s No.1 imported car sales operator for obstructing consumers’ rational purchase choices with false and deceptive advertisements about its emission reduction performance even after the Dieselgate scandal,” the KFTC said in a statement.
The German carmaker also falsely advertised that their vehicles’ emissions remained at a minimum level and met the Euro 6 emission standards between August 2013 and December 2016, according to the KFTC.
Mercedes was not immediately available for comment outside business hours when contacted by Reuters.
Last year, the KFTC imposed a fine or ordered corrective actions for Audi-Volkswagen Korea, Nissan Motor Corp, Stellantis Korea and Porsche AG for similar emissions rigging incidents.