Daimler Said to Seek U.S. Lawyers for Executives in Diesel Probe
- Search suggests prosecutors plan interviews with individuals
- Daimler emissions scrutiny joins probes of VW, Fiat, Bosch
The U.K. produced 1.59 million passenger vehicles in 2015, including Toyota, Mini and Jaguar models. That compares with 5.56 million vehicles made in Germany by domestic manufacturers including Volkswagen, Porsche, Mercedes and BMW, according to figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.
Photographer: Wolfgang von Brauchitsch/BloombergDaimler AG is conducting a search for U.S. criminal defense lawyers to represent company executives who may be swept up in the Justice Department’s investigation of possible diesel-emissions cheating, according to people familiar with the matter.
The outreach suggests that prosecutors have identified people at the company they plan to interview as they examine whether the Stuttgart, Germany-based automaker installed devices in its Mercedes-Benz diesel models in an attempt to evade U.S. environmental laws, said two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. It’s unclear whether the executives seeking counsel are based in the U.S. or Germany.