Mercedes-Benz toppled a recall of some of its diesel models at a German court over a procedural issue and was spared a decision over whether it used illegal emission-cheating software.
The nation’s transport regulator KBA should have relied on European Union rules instead of national legislation for the recall, the administrative court in the city of Schleswig ruled on Thursday.
The rules can’t be swapped retroactively, the tribunal said in an email.
The procedural decision means that the judges didn’t look into whether KBA was right to find that Mercedes used illegal defeat devices in its engines at stake in the case.
Mercedes said it welcomes the decision, adding that its arguments also apply in other cases the company has filed against recalls.
KBA didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
In the wake of the diesel scandal that broke a decade ago, many German carmakers faced recalls over software employed to regulate pollutants in engines.
Mercedes in 2018 was hit with a recall for 774,000 cars and has filed four suits against various of theses orders. Thursday’s ruling is the first in this litigation.
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