Business

Mercedes Recall Points to Diesel’s Decline

Diesels make up about half of European car sales. That puts automakers in a bind.

Photographer: Mark Elias/Bloomberg

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Diesel just took another hit, this time from the inventor of the automobile.

By recalling almost all the Mercedes-Benz diesel cars it’s sold in Europe in recent years, Daimler AG effectively acknowledged that the technology has flaws. That’s a blow for diesel, which has been under assault since Volkswagen AG was found cheating on emissions tests nearly two years ago.